The Waste & Resources Action Programme, along with the Scottish Executive, announced that they are awarding 1.2 million pounds (about US$2. million) to a number of large-scale operational trials that aim to develop end markets for recycled glass.
The trials are designed to enable industry to better understand the performance and operational benefits of using recycled glass.
The scope of the trials covers the following:
Grit blasting within the marine sector - Shipbuilders & Shiprepairers Association;
Brick and tile fluxing – Akristos Ltd;
Water filtration in the food and chemicals processing industry, including reed bed construction - Aqua Enviro Ltd;
Artificial sports turf and top dressing for winter games pitches (football) - STRI (Sports Turf Research Institution);
Golf course construction and maintenance - Scottish Golf Consortium including Scottish Golf Environment Group;
Mortars, adhesives and cement repair products – Instarmac Ltd, and
Higher value cement block manufacture - Brand & Rae Ltd.
Bronnie Allen, Materials Development Manager for glass, said, “We are extremely pleased that the trials are covering a number of different applications as this is the beauty of recycled glass – it is very versatile and has huge potential market uptake.
“Using recycled glass has been shown to offer performance, energy saving and cost benefits in a number of different applications. With many industry sectors under pressure to improve their environmental credentials, it could well be just the answer some companies are looking for. It is hoped that the results of these trials will encourage more businesses to investigate the possibility of using recycled glass.”