Knauf Insulation, headquartered in Germany, has announced that its U.K. manufacturing operations has entered a long-term contract with the environmental services firm Veolia to support the construction of a cullet processing facility that will be built next to Knauf’s manufacturing plant in St. Helens, Merseyside, U.K.
The facility, estimated to cost £10 million ($12.6 million), will be built and operated by Veolia on land owned by Knauf Insulation. The facility will take glass from Veolia and process it to a furnace-ready cullet. The material will provide Knauf Insulation with a stable supply of high-quality recycled glass from various packaging products, Veolia says. The end-to-end process supports the strategies of both companies in regards to sustainability, recycling and preserving scarce raw materials. The facility is excepted to be operational by the end of this year.
Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive vice president at Veolia UK and Ireland, says, “This venture with Knauf Insulation provides a closed loop solution for glass packaging from our Material Recovery Facilities. This will save raw materials, lessen energy demand, cut CO2 emissions and reduce the amount of materials going to landfill. It is set to be the first of its kind in the U.K. and represents a significant investment in circular thinking, new technology and jobs and will ensure we keep the highest quality of glass in circulation.”
John Sinfield, managing director at Knauf Insulation Northern Europe, says, “We are delighted to be working with Veolia on this project, which perfectly aligns our goals for sustainability and the circular economy. Given recent shortages impacting the construction sector, our customers can be reassured that we are working proactively upstream to further enhance the security of our supply. The construction of the new facility should also help grow the local economy through the creation of new jobs and the use of local firms to carry out the relevant construction work”.
The new facility will dry and refine tens of thousands of tonnes of glass into a furnace-ready cullet. The cullet will be fed into a furnace where it will be converted into a glass mineral wool that will be used to manufacture various insulation products.
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