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The clean-cut story of automotive glazing reincarnation

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These days environment and sustainability are the words on everybody’s lips. One key practice in our efforts to keep our planet healthy for future generations is recycling and we do it both at household level and on a large industrial scale.

Ever wondered what happens to windshields that are beyond repair ? In a not-too-distant past they would inevitably have ended up on a landfill but the last decade has seen a rise in vehicle glass recycling initiatives. The process however is more complex than that of recycling plain glass bottles and jars …

For windshields the added challenge is to extract the layer of PVB from the sheets of glass it is holding together. To this end the windshields first go through a grinder that effectively crushes the glass into tiny pieces, known as cullet. Then a vibratory separator sifts out the glass cullet, leaving behind only the PVB. Before the glass cullet can be re-used in other glass, stone aggregates or fiberglass insulation it undergoes a thorough cleaning process to eliminate contaminants such as ceramics, metals and paper. The PVB also gets a second life, most commonly in adhesive applications.

Although some glass companies have successfully implemented their own windshield recycling program, many others subcontract the job to specialized recyclers such as Suez and Renewi.

We at AGC also commit to reducing our footprint. To find out more about our recycling strategy, go to https://www.agc-glass.eu/en/sustainability/environmental-achievements/recycling