Reusing waste cullet in glass manufacture

You can often reuse materials within the process, or use them as an input to another process. For example, you can use cullet as a raw material in glass manufacture.

What you must do

For some processes involving cullet recovery and reuse, you will need a permit, licence or exemption.

England and Wales

You will need a Part B environmental permit from your local council.

Northern Ireland and Scotland

You may qualify for an exemption if you recover or dispose of waste cullet at the place where it is produced. This is only if the waste was generated from an integral part of the production process.

You may also qualify for an exemption if you:

  • use cullet in your process, and the total quantity of cullet used does not exceed 600,000 tonnes in any period of 12 months
  • sort, crush or wash cullet to be reused, and the total quantity of cullet you deal with per week does not exceed 1,000 tonnes, or
  • store cullet to be used in glass manufacture at the same site and the total amount you store at any time does not exceed 5,000 tonnes.

You must register this exemption with your environmental regulator.

You must still ensure that your activity does not:

  • endanger human health or cause pollution to water, air or soil
  • cause a risk to plants or animals
  • cause a nuisance in terms of noise, dust, fumes, smoke or odour
  • adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest.

Good practice

As far as possible, reclaim and reuse cullet within the production process. 

If you manufacture lead glass, increasing the amount of cullet you recycle within the process might reduce the amount of hazardous/special waste you produce.

In England and Wales the Environment Agency and WRAP are developing a Quality Protocol for producing and using processed cullet from waste flat glass, to make it easier for businesses to recycle their waste flat glass. The protocol identifies when waste flat glass will no longer be classed as waste, so it can be used without waste management controls. For example, if it is not classed as a waste, you do not need to transport it using a waste carrier or with a waste transfer note.