British Glass Industry
Background
The UK glass industry (all sectors) produces an estimated 3.7 million
tonnes of glass per year, divided as follows in the generalised subsectors
of Container, Flat, Fibre and Domestic (including Crystal and Special
Glass):
Production of containers for the food and drinks industry, glazing in
construction and the automotive industry account for around 90% of
glass produced in the UK.
Container
Container glass, mainly bottles and jars, accounts for around 60% of all
UK glass production. The majority of the container glass produced in the
UK is clear.
The UK container industry presently comprises six manufacturers
producing a total of 2,200 million tonnes of container glass in 2006.
Flat
The flat glass industry, fuelled by demand for building and automotive
glass, represents the second largest sector in the UK glass manufacturing
industry.
Currently, three companies produce flat glass in the UK and annual
domestic production in 2006 was 1.1 million tonnes; the majority going
towards glazing products for buildings including laminated, selfcleaning, coated low-emissivity, silvered and other glasses; the rest used
in automotive applications. Production of clear float glass constitutes the
single largest product and unlike container glass, is usually used in longterm applications.
Fibreglass
There are three fibreglass manufacturers in the UK producing two main
products. Fibre has over 40,000 different applications, including building
insulation products (for energy savings and fire (thermal) protection),
reinforcement of plastics and rubber, electronics and wall coverings.
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Production from this sector is estimated at 250,000 tonnes in 2006 (up
30,000 tonnes from 2003).
Glass fibre is an extremely versatile material. Drawn as a continuous
thread it can be manufactured into fabric yarn which is fire resistant.
Domestic Glass / Special Glass
Domestic glass production covers both the special and domestic sectors.
Although, currently the UK has no volume producer of domestic glass
but several small manufacturers producing giftware from either lead
crystal or common soda-lime glass . Typically they operate small pot
furnaces melting a few tonnes per week.
Special Glass covers an extremely diverse group - lighting, television
tubes, oven hobs, optical, medical and scientific. Production capacities
range from large 200 tonne per day furnaces to specialist melters
producing a few kg per week.
Other Information
Sand, limestone and soda ash are the principal virgin raw materials used
by the industry and recycled cullet is used as much as possible. The
amount of glass recycled in 2006 was 1.3 million tonnes, accounting for
54% of the total waste stream. The container industry recycled a record
751,845 tonnes of cullet back into new bottles and jars. Remelting waste
glass uses 25% less energy than making glass from raw materials.
The industry is not a large user of water, average consumption being
slightly in excess of 1.0m3 for each tonne of glass produced.
Glass manufacture is an energy-intensive process - 80% natural glas
which is used to fire the high-temperature furnaces - and because it
represents a significant cost to the industry, it has worked for decades to
improve energy efficiency. Over the past 20 years energy consumption
per tonne of glass produced has halved. The amount of energy required
to melt a tonne of glass has fallen to 1.47 MWh.
As the industry can recycle almost all of its own rejected production,
very little solid waste is produced. Furnace rebuilds produce a large
amount of refractory waste but this in turn can be recycled and a typical
furnace has a life in excess of 10 years.
Health & Safety
British Glass is committed to maintaining and improving the industry's health and
safety record. Through major initiatives such as the GLASS Charter, an industry-wide
programme and the Annual Glass Industry Health & Safety Conference, we are
continually helping all sectors of the UK glass industry to improve standards and
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performance through sharing of best practice, regular committees and events and
working groups to tackle specific issues.
"Estimated benefit to industry could be £1.5 million each year"
Good health and safety performance is no accident and represents good business
practice -not only improving the health and well being of all employees but also
reducing costs and saving money. Using HSE figures the estimated benefit to industry
could be £1.5 million each year.
Working closely with industry, unions, the Health & Safety Executive HSE) and other
stakeholders allows us to identify and consult on issues as they arise and gives our
industry a unique opportunity to raise concerns, input into both UK and EU
legislation, share best practice, case studies and initiatives and access a wide range of
information, guidance and support.
For further information on health and safety contact Philip Marsh, UK Health &
Safety Manager, p.marsh@britglass.co.uk
Glass Industry Codes of
Practice
These codes of practice have been drawn up between industry repreentatives and the
Health and Safety Executive. Adherence to these codes may be seen to demonstrate
competence in meeting proper safety standards.
Code of Practice for Glass Handling and Storage
This code of practice has been drawn up to provide guidance on recommended best
practice in the safe handling, transport and storage of flat glass, in the warehouse,
processing shops and on sites.
Code of Practice for the Use of Stillages by Contractors
These guidelines are primarily aimed at contractors who receive and distribute "Glass
Stillages" around construction sites. The intent of the following guidance is to enable
companies to manage and work with glass stillages safely and comply with the legal
requirements laid down under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSW) and the
Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM).
Code of Practice for the Use of Stillages by Suppliers
Guidance is aimed at manufacturers and suppliers of processed flat glass. Both
manufacturers and suppliers have duties under Health and Safety law to provide
information on the safe use of Stillages.
Code of Practice for Window Installation Safety
This code of practice has been drawn up to provide guidance of recommended best
practice in the safe installation of windows. It addresses the general duties placed
upon both employer and employee by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and
the more specific requirements of other relevant acts and regulations.
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Code of Practice for Working at Heights in the Domestic Replacement Window
Industry
This code of practice has been drawn up to provide guidance of recommended best
practice in the safe handling, transport and storage of flat glass in the warehouse,
processing shops and on sites. It addresses the general duties placed upon the
employer by the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and the more specific
requirements of other relevant Acts and regulations.
Code of Practice Work with Domestic Soffits and Rainwater Goods Containing
Asbestos Cement
The aim of this document is to give practical advice and to set standards of Best
Practice for work with roofline and rainwater products containing Asbestos Cement
on single domestic premises, as the circumstances are inherently different from most
other situations where Asbestos Cement is removed; this will aid compliance with the
Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations.
Please note that working groups are reviewing existing guidance and producing
additional guidance all the time. For further information on health and safety please
contact Philip Marsh, UK Health and Safety Manager, p.marsh@britglass.co.uk
Guidance, Legislation and
Support Materials
A range of materials, guidance and support are available to all members - including
quarterly legislative updates, GLASS Charter Guidelines manual, full audit tools,
targeted toolkits, support packages and safety alerts.
We provide members with expert health and safety advice and consultancy. Our
regular e-briefings keep members up-to-date with changes and developments in
relevant UK and European legislation which is constantly changing
In addition, we also organise training and events for our members for a whole range
of topics and disciplines relevant to our sectors and can organise bespoke programmes
for members' individual needs. Our goal is always to empower our members to
expand their own competence through learning.
A new addition to our range of support packages is "Solving Stress is Simple" - a
comprehensive support package to help companies manage stress in the workplace.
For further information on health and safety, or to become a subscriber to the Health
& Safety Legislation e-briefing, please contact Philip Marsh, UK Health and Safety
Manager, p.marsh@britglass.co.uk
Environment
The manufacture of glass makes relatively small demands on the environment
compared with other industries. It uses mainly readily available minerals to produce
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environmentally friendly products which have many beneficial uses from double
glazing to solar panels and packaging. Water consumption is comparatively low and
reuse common. Fuel use is undoubtedly the major impact but relative consumption
has fallen dramatically over the years and stringent targets under UK Climate Change
agreements will continue at least until 2017. The industry is also subject to the EU
Emissions trading scheme controlling Greenhouse Gases and what is commonly
known as Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control, controlling other emissions
and energy use.
British Glass contributes to this process of improving environmental performance by
keeping its industry members fully apprised of legislation and technical
developments.
Glass, Society and
Environment (TC12)
Glass for a Sustainable Society
TC-12 is a Technical Committee of the International Commision on Glass.
The International Commission on Glass (ICG) is a non-profit international society of
national scientific and technical organisations with particular interests in glass science
and technology.
The aim of ICG is to promote and stimulate understanding and co-operation between
glass experts in the fields of science and technology of glass as well as art, history and
education.
The ICG achieves these objectives by organising technical committee (TCs) work (eg
laboratory round robins, comparative studies, topical meetings), compiling
information on glass (eg publishing scientific and technical papers, reports and
books), and by sharing and disseminating knowledge on glass in advanced
educational courses and workshops.
TC12 is concerned with the role of Glass in a Sustainable Society and particularly at
this time with the issues of Climate Change.
Please click here to read the activies of TC12 in their 2008 Annual Report.
Links
Electronic Publications
Glass Age - www.glassage.com
Glass Online - www.glassonline.com
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Glass Global - www.glassglobal.com
Glass on the Web - www.glassonweb.com
Glass Industry - www.glassindustry.info
Glass Packaging Technology - www.packaging-gateway.com
Environment
The Environment Agency - www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Scottish Protection Agency - www.sepa.org.uk
Environmental Services Association - www.esauk.org
Envirowise - www.envirowise.gov.uk
Government / Government Departments
UK
UK Parliament - www.parliament.uk
UK Government Public Service Information - www.direct.gov.uk
Government News Network - www.gnn.gov.uk
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs - www.defra.gov.uk
Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform - www.berr.gov.uk
Department for Work & Pensions - www.dwp.gov.uk
Department of Health - www.dh.gov.uk
Department for Education & Skills - www.dfes.gov.uk
Scotland
Scottish Executive - www.scotland.gov.uk
The Scottish Parliament - www.scottish.parliament.uk
The Scottish Office - www.scottishsecretary.gov.uk
Wales
Welsh Assembly - www.wales.gov.uk
Wales Office - www.walesoffice.gov.uk
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Assembly - www.niassembly.gov.uk
Northern Ireland Executive - www.nics.gov.uk
Northern Ireland Office - www.nio.gov.uk
Europe
European Union - www.europa.eu.int
European Parliament - www.europarl.eu.int
UK Office EP - www.europaul.org.uk
Health & Safety/Employment
Employment Tribunals Service - www.employment-tribunals.gov.uk
Equal Opportunities Commission - www.eoc.org.uk
Health & Safety Direct - www.hsedirect.com
Just Ask - www.justask.org.uk
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Landfill Tax Credit Scheme
LTCS - www.ltcs.org.uk
LTCS Regulator Entrust - www.entrust.org.uk
Other
Keep It Organic - www.keepitorganic.org
Bisphenol A - www.bisphenolafree.org/
Packaging
INCPEN - www.incpen.org
Institute of Packaging - www.iop.co.uk
PIRA - www.pira.co.uk
Think Packaging - www.packaging.co.uk
Technical / Business Information
Technical Notes for Glass Artists - www.glassnotes.com
Handmade Glass Info - www.handmade-glass.com
Glasspac - www.glasspac.com
Centre for Window Cladding & Technology - www.cwct.co.uk
The Glass Association - www.glassassociation.org.uk
Craft & Design - www.designfactory.org.uk
Waste & Recycling
Recycling Expert - www.recyclingexpert.co.uk/home.html
Keep Wales Tidy - www.keepwalestidy.org
Keep Britain Tidy - www.encams.org.uk
Reduce the Use - www.reducetheuse.co.uk
Waste Awareness Wales - www.wasteawarensswales.org.uk.
Waste Aware Scotland - www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk
Waste Watch - www.wastewatch.org.uk
Chartered Institute of Waste Management - www.ciwm.co.uk
Valpak - www.valpak.co.uk
Recycle More - www.recycle-more.co.uk
Biffa Waste - www.biffa.co.uk
WRAP - www.wrap.org.uk
NWAI - www.nwai.org.uk
SWAG - www.rags.org.uk
Remade Scotland - www.remade.org.uk
Bankit - www.bank-it.org
Reverse Vending Systems - www.reversevending.co.uk
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