Glass

All the glass we collect is colour separated at the pick-up point to maximise recovery and minimise contamination. It is transferred from our trucks to bulk storage bays at our depots.

It then goes to Visy Glass in Auckland for beneficiation (ie rendering back into its constituent particles) and on to ACI Glass next door for remanufacture into new bottles and jars – usually mixed with virgin glass to form the new product. Recycled glass is now also being used in aggregate for asphalt, swimming pool filters and as an abrasive cleaner for jewellers. Glass can be recycled and used over and over since the molecules do not break down.

Glass is made of relatively cheap raw materials, but glass making is energy intensive. Glass recycling reduces the energy used since recycled glass melts at a lower temperature than the raw materials. Increasing the amount of glass cullet (ie recycled broken glass) in the furnace to 50% can result in a 15% savings in energy. Using recycled glass in the process also reduces water use by 50% and mining waste by 80%.

All Brite is one of a small group of principal suppliers in New Zealand delivering glass direct to ACI (via Visy).