Sibstekl increased the volume of glass waste recycling by 1.7 times

Dear colleagues, we are publishing news about a member of the Association "StekloSouz" of Russia, Siberian Glass LLC (“Sibsteklo”):

In 2023, the glass complexes of Siberian Glass LLC (Sibsteklo, one of the leading manufacturers of glass containers in Russia, an asset of RATM Holding) recycled 48 thousand tons of glass waste, which is 58.3% more than in 2022. Thus, the plant saved 57.6 thousand tons of mineral resources.

“The peak month was December, when we sent more than 7 thousand tons of glass waste to glass melting furnaces, replacing about 8.5 tons of primary raw materials,” said Anton Mor, General Director of Sibstekl. – Thanks to the use of cullet, the consumption of sand, soda, dolomite, limestone and feldspar in 2023 compared to 2022 decreased by 14% - to 228 thousand tons. At the same time, according to preliminary estimates, production volume increased by 5%.

Let us recall that industry specifics determined the company’s ESG focus – ecology.

Glass can be remelted an unlimited number of times without loss of properties. One ton of glass waste is equivalent to 1.2 tons of minerals: the company slows down the rate of their depletion and the accumulation of MSW at landfills. It is technologically more difficult to produce glass containers without cullet; its use improves the quality of glass products; Every 10% of glass waste reduces energy consumption by 3%, and as a result, the industrial burden on the environment.

In March 2023, Sibstekl put into operation the first stage of a technological complex for processing glass waste, with a capacity of 60 thousand tons of recyclable materials per year. The plant confirms its intention to develop processing capacity. To date, the share of cullet in the raw material for the production of brown containers (about half of the total volume of glass products) has reached 50%, for colorless containers – 25-30%. The goal is to bring the overall figure to 80% by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024.