Circular Economy

Policy areas / Environment & Chemical Regulations / Circular Economy

Circular Economy

Zero internal glass waste to landfill, the ultimate objective of Glass Fibre Europe’s members

Summary

In March 2022, the European Commission published the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. This action plan is part of the EU Green Deal and it looks at reducing the consumption of resources, reducing waste and increasing circularity in the EU economy.

Why is it important

The European glass fibre industry is committed to working toward a drastic reduction of waste generation in its installations. The ultimate objective is that zero internal glass waste ends up to landfill. The intrinsic properties/qualities of the glass fibre products make it a challenging task (e.g. mechanical strength, low thermal conductivity or durability) and the industry is already implementing solutions to overcome these barriers.

Our view

The glass fibre industry considers that it is its duty to find solutions to eliminate the generation of glass waste in its installations, as well as to support the reinforced composite industry and composites users in their efforts to address the management of the composites’ end-of-life. Glass Fibre Europe contributes to the later by taking part in joint activities with other trade associations representing the composite value chain, including constituent material manufacturers, composites fabricators, composites users as well as other interested industries.

Supporting documents