A glass collection service from Valpak, a British-based company, has reached the 50,000 metric ton milestone about 18 monhts after the program began.
The service collects mixed-color glass free of charge from businesses and then takes it to be recycled. Since beginning the program the company has collected 53,500 metric tons, making it the single largest glass collector from commercial operations in the United Kingdom. The company reports that roughly 16,000 businesses have been contracted with through the program.
Founded by Valpak in 2001 to prepare for future UK recycling targets and to guarantee material-specific PRNs for Valpak members, the program is called recycle-more-glass.
The service has 31 vehicles on 160 collection routes operating throughout the UK, and in November launched its Scottish operation , serving Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“recycle-more-glass has been running for 18 months, and in that time the service has been extremely successful in boosting glass collection throughout the UK,” commented Rosalind Dorning, Valpak’s market development manager. “We are thrilled to have reached the 50,000 metric ton milestone – it just shows what can be achieved with the right infrastructure and systems in place. Although the service is young, it has already made a significant impact on the market, and this can only develop over the forthcoming months.”