Today’s environmental and political strategies are pushing the automotive world (suppliers, manufacturers, recyclers and others) towards greater involvement in the end-of-life stage of their products. Recently, the European Commission advocated a push towards a “provision on glass dismantling” policy to ensure the proper treatment of end-of-life glass products and therefore optimize their re-usability, resulting in the availability of high-quality cullet, free of contaminants. While some may argue that there is little to no value in this dynamic, at AGC we argue the exact opposite.
Cullet, or broken glass for the non-initiated, is a key element of our industry. From the broken glass in our factories to the one that we provide replacement for, it is a major component of our activities. Some might consider it as a disposable, but we prefer to see it as a challenge.
The equation is simple: 1 ton of cullet recycled in our process translates into 1.2 tons of raw material created and 0.7 tons of CO2 avoided.
Therefore, every ton of product that is recycled means 1.2 tons of raw material that we don’t need to source and 0.7 tons of CO2 that we don’t need to generate. Last year, this win-win equation added up to 4.5 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower in raw material (and thus a huge amount of CO2) avoided.
Not only is this a beneficial operation that we can share with customers, the long-term impact on the environment is where its true value resides. And that’s exactly where our sustainability strategy aligns with that push from the legislators. In parallel to using ever more cullet, AGC ARG has also reached 100% renewable energy use since January 2024, a milestone that is merely the visible tip of the iceberg of the collective effort made by AGC.
As an example outside Europe, at AGC’s Takasago Plant in Japan, cullet can be also transformed into artificial silica to restore tidal flats, an important spawning ground for aquatic organisms, a growth environment for young fish and a major player in the purification of seawater.
In short, end-of-life products are no dead-end but rather a virtuous circle of new opportunities for the world.