The German glassmaker continues to invest in recycling management with the expansion of their stock of post-consumer cullet in the Tettau plant in Germany.

"We have been using recycled glass for cosmetic packaging for over 10 years and are market pioneers in this field," says Nicola Balena, Vice President Global Business Management Cosmetic Moulded Glass. "Our recycled glass flacons have convinced many of our customers who want to improve the sustainability of their packaging without compromise. We are committed to the recycling economy and only produce cosmetic packaging with a high percentage of recycled glass. In this respect we are ahead of the market".

Energy savings

According to Gerresheimer, using only three percent of PCR cullet in glass production means energy savings of one percent and in the future the proportion of cullet used in glass production will be up to 40 percent. This will make the entire glass production process even more efficient and sustainable. "We will therefore need even fewer raw materials, reduce our energy consumption and lower CO2 emissions," says Kay Rohn, CEO of Gerresheimer Tettau.

To secure their ability to reprocess post-consumer glass waste, i.e. glass waste discarded by consumers in households and offices, Gerresheimer has extended the batch unit of their Tettau plant during a two-month construction phase. Two silos were therefore created which are with a 270 tonnes of cullet storage capacity.