{"id":2,"date":"2023-05-08T16:20:02","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T16:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vetreco.it\/en\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2023-10-25T12:46:24","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T12:46:24","slug":"the-cycle-of-glass","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/vetreco.it\/en\/the-cycle-of-glass\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cycle of Glass"},"content":{"rendered":"

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THE<\/span> CYCLE OF GLASS<\/span><\/h1><\/div>
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From a ‘Raw’ cullet, i.e. a waste product mainly coming from separate waste collection to a ‘Ready-to-Bake’ cullet, i.e. a Secondary Raw Material used by glasshouses to replace natural raw materials (natural sand, soda ash, etc.).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Reduction in the use of natural raw materials<\/h2><\/div>
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for the production of glass packaging, mainly silica sands and soda ash, with a consequent reduction in the environmental impacts of exploiting the relevant quarries.<\/h4>\n

In 2022, glass recycling reduced the use of traditional raw materials (sand, soda ash, carbonates, etc.) by more than 4.2 million tonnes. A quantity that would occupy twice the volume of the Colosseum.<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Significant reduction in energy consumption in the glasshouses<\/h2><\/div>
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in particular, thanks to the use of MPS, the melting temperatures required to obtain glass packaging are reduced.
\nIn 2022, the recycling of glass <\/strong> enabled direct and indirect energy savings of 436 million m3 of methane, equivalent to the domestic consumption of more than 260,000 Italian families, the equivalent to the needs of a city of 1.5 million inhabitants, larger.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Reducing CO2 emissions<\/h2><\/div>
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from glasshouses in melting furnaces.
\nIn 2022, glass recycling <\/strong> avoided the emission into the atmosphere of about 2.5 million tonnes of CO2, equivalent to the emissions of about 1.5 million Euro 6 cars circulating for one year, with an average mileage of 15,000km.<\/p>\n

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WATCH THE VIDEO TO LEARN MORE<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

WHAT ARE THE GLASS
TREATMENT PROCESSES<\/span>?<\/h1><\/div>
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Quando la materia prima arriva nello stabilimento VETRECO subisce una trasformazione che comprende quattro processi ben distinti e ciascuno di essi \u00e8 fondamentale per preparare un prodotto “Pronto Forno” di ottima qualit\u00e0.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Step 1: Pre-sorting (R12)<\/h2><\/div>
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The coarse scrap put in reserve R13 in a yard is taken up with mechanical shovels to feed the hoppers of the Pre-sorting plant.In this plant, through two manual sorting steps and by means of special machines, an initial selection of the raw scrap takes place, with the elimination of bulkier materials: ferrous and non-ferrous metal packaging, mixed materials (plastics, paper and cardboard, ceramics, etc.).
\nThe main process steps are:
\nSeparation and removal of ferrous metal packaging<\/strong>
\nManual sorting <\/strong>\u00a0(removal of mixed and \u00a0bulky materials<\/strong>)
\nRemoval of light mixed materials<\/strong>
\nRemoval of non-ferrous metal packaging (cans)<\/strong>
\nSize reduction < 50 mm<\/strong>
\nThe semi-finished product coming out of this plant, called pre-sorted, goes to feed the next sorting plant, or is stored on the ground waiting to be processed later.

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Step 2: Sorting (MPS production Ready to Bake)<\/h2><\/div>
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The semi-finished product coming out of the Pre-Sorting plant feeds the subsequent Selection plant.
\nIn this fully automatic plant, using state-of-the-art machines, including optical sorting machines, the material is transformed into MPS Ready to Bake, sorted by colour:
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The main process steps are:<\/strong>
\n><\/strong>\u00a0Ferrous metal sorting and removal
\n><\/strong>\u00a0Non-ferrous metal sorting and removal
\n><\/strong>\u00a0Possible drying
\n><\/strong>\u00a0Labels removal
\n><\/strong>\u00a0Screening and glass removal < 5 mm (to be sent to the next Washing and Grinding stage)
\n><\/strong>\u00a0Optical selection for removal of the following pollutants
\n\u2022 Plastics
\n\u2022 Metals
\n\u2022 Crystal (glass containing Pb) + Ceramic containing Pb
\n\u2022 Glass ceramic
\n\u2022 Infusibles (ceramic, stone, pozzolan, etc.)
\n><\/strong>\u00a0Optical selection for colour separation:
\n\u2022 Green
\n\u2022 Amber
\n\u2022 Transparent (Flint)<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Step 3: Washing<\/h2><\/div>
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The material is ready to be sent to the final stage but first undergoes a washing process that removes any processing impurities that may have accumulated during previous processing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Step 4: Grinding (Production of Glass Sand MPS)<\/h2><\/div>
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The Secondary Raw Material<\/strong> ground in this way consists of the smallest glass fragments, from which no pollutants can be removed, and can be transformed into ‘glass sand’<\/strong>: an MPS that can also be recycled in glasshouses<\/strong>, or in other sectors (construction), the use characteristics of which are currently the subject of scientific research, in order to maximise recyclability.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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THE MATERIAL BALANCE
\nOF VETRECO PLANT IN SUPINO<\/strong<\/span>?<\/h1><\/div>
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For every 100 t of raw scrap<\/strong> sent for treatment in the year 2022, the following were produced:<\/p>\n

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  • Approx\u00a075 t di MPS Ready to Furnace<\/strong>, separated by colour<\/li>\n
  • Approx\u00a013 t di MPS Glass Sand<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • About \u00a02 t of waste, sent for recovery at specialised plants.<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    In particular:<\/p>\n

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    • Ferrous packaging is delivered to the supply chain consortium (Ricrea)<\/li>\n
    • Non-ferrous packaging is delivered to the sector consortium (Cial) and other plants for subsequent recovery.<\/li>\n
    • Glass dust is delivered to specific plants for recovery.<\/li>\n
    • Approximately nine tonnes of waste were disposed of in landfills.<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Therefore,for every 100 tonnes of raw scrap<\/strong> sent for treatment, approximately 89 tonnes of MPSMPS were produced in the year 2022.<\/strong>.
      \nOnly nine tonnes of waste were disposed of in landfills.<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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