Recycling glass bottles and jars into new ones. Own business: cullet processing

Recycling glass is an important industry in waste management needed to protect the environment and savings natural resources... However, in Russia this area is poorly developed and large quantity glass is not recyclable. About why you need to recycle glass waste and how this recycling is done, this article.

It is necessary to hand over glass bottles and cullet to collection points for further processing for a number of reasons:

1. Glass is not biodegradable. A simple glass soda bottle has a decomposition time of 1000 years or more. It is clear that without recycling and recycling glass, our entire planet will short period completely filled with glass waste.
2. Glassware is fragile broken glass released into the environment poses a threat to both animals and humans.
3. Glass-clogged soil is unfavorable for vegetation growth.
4. Reuse of glass containers and cullet saves natural (exhaustible and non-renewable) resources. So, for example, the use of 10% broken glass helps to save gas by 3%. If a person engaged in the production of glass products uses only broken glass at his enterprise, he will thereby reduce gas consumption by 30%.
5. A relatively small share of glass waste is recycled in Russia. But even this amount of recyclable waste ensures the conservation of about 10,000 hectares of land, which could turn into huge landfills.
6. Glass containers and cullet are completely recyclable, that is, glass recycling is waste-free, which is extremely important to protect the environment from negative impact industrial and other enterprises.
7. In addition to natural gas, the reuse of this kind of waste allows you to save more than 1 ton of materials used in the production of limestone, soda, sand.
8. People who donate glass containers to collection points receive money for this.

Important! Recycling glass is necessary, first of all, to protect our ecology, to conserve natural resources and for cheaper production of glass products and materials.

What glass is recyclable

The main types of recyclable glass waste include:

1. Glass containers: glass jars and bottles. Usually people collect bottles and hand them over to specialized glass collection points. Then the glass containers are recycled in order to reuse them. At the same time, it is washed, treated with disinfectant solutions, after which the glass container can again be used as a container for drinks.
2. Glass cullet - broken glass containers.

Glass breakage is classified according to color. For example, green cullet (ЗС), colorless cullets (BS), brown cullets (КС), etc.

Note! All glass materials of different products are made on the basis of the same substances (as mentioned earlier, sand, soda, lime are used). However, various impurities are added to a number of glass products (for example, windows, light bulbs), the surface of many products is also treated with various special coatings. For this reason, only glass bottles and cans can be recycled.

Glass recycling at home

Recycling glass at home is feasible, but it takes time and effort. Such recycling implies, first of all, the processing of whole glass containers for reuse. To do this, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse the glass containers, treat them with disinfectants available at home or specially purchased in the store, and then rinse the treated containers with special care with clean running water. After these actions, the jars and bottles can be reused without any harm to health.

An interesting question is how to recycle glass at home.

The cullet can be recycled on its own. However, this will take much longer. Let's give an example.

At home, glass can be processed into tiles (provided there is sufficient glass material). To make a tile, only three components are needed: glass, dyes and binders. The glass (cullet) must be crushed, then dyes should be added to the glass mass to obtain the desired color of the tile and the bonding compound, then pour the mixture into the desired form and leave to solidify for a while, after which the tile will be ready for use. These tiles are better suited for bathroom and kitchen walls.

How glass is recycled

Utilization and recycling of cullet is a step-by-step process, consisting of the following main stages:

• collection of glass waste;
• transportation of collected waste to a glass processing plant;
• separation, cleaning from various impurities, washing of waste;
• grinding glass on special equipment, grinding small pieces into powder;
• packaging of the produced glass powder for subsequent use.

Recycling glass bottles (or rather, scrap and broken bottles) directly at the plant for the production of glass containers is a competent and rational waste disposal. Consider how this process.

1. Stage one. Separating all non-glass components from the cullet. Grinding the bead and separating the remaining metal parts with magnets. Separation of plastic and paper components from the crushed mixture in vacuum processes.
2. Stage two. Sending the resulting mixture for the secondary manufacture of containers. The battle is added to the feedstock (lime, soda, etc.), then the mixture is stirred and converted (at 1500 ° C) into a glass fraction.
3. Stage three. Pouring glass mass into molding containers, blowing out new bottles.

The quality of this recycled glass bottle matches the quality of a bottle made from 100% fresh raw materials. The use of scrap in the production of glass containers significantly saves energy.

Large glass processing plants in Russia: RSK company (in St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl and other cities), Utility, etc.

Glass processing equipment

Modern fairly wealthy enterprises use such basic equipment for glass processing as:

• automatic systems for sorting cullet by color and shade;
• containers for sorted cuttings;
• sinks for dirty fighting with paper residues;
• different types of filter sieves;
• electromagnetic and vacuum equipment;
• crushers;
• belt conveyor;
• packaging systems.

Who accepts glass for recycling

Glass containers and broken glass are usually accepted at collection points located in most cities of Russia. Such points organize individual entrepreneurs, since glass is recyclable, which is profitable to sell to factories for the production of glass products. Also, the container and the battle are accepted by the companies engaged in glass processing and / or the production of glass products.

The cost of glass as a recyclable material

Perhaps everyone once thought about how much crushed glass costs as a recyclable material.

Glass containers and cullet are bought by many companies for further use as secondary raw materials. The prices for glass in our country are low. So, for 1 bottle you can get from 10 kopecks to 2 rubles. The battle can be sold for an average of 3000 - 4000 rubles per 1 ton, depending on the type.

Glass recycling as a business

Glass waste can be a great business. Such waste can be used by entrepreneurs in the production of sanitary ware made of ceramics, bricks, glass powders, fine-grained concrete, heat insulators, etc. At the same time, it is not necessary to create a large enterprise, you can open a mini-plant for the manufacture of products from cullet. Actual business- the idea is to produce tiles from glass waste.

How to properly organize a glass waste recycling business, how this recycling should be carried out, is described in the next video.

Relevance of glass processing in Russia

Glass recycling in Russia is a very urgent problem today. The amount of waste is constantly increasing, and the development of glass processing industries is poorly carried out. Therefore, a glass waste recycling business can be a solution to this difficult environmental and economic challenge.

Thus, the processing of glass containers and cullet is not only an activity aimed at protecting our environment, but also promising business, for the development of which, among other things, state support is needed. As a business, glass waste recycling is profitable and sustainable if managed properly.

V Russian Federation, unlike some countries that have long had factories for glass processing, this process is just beginning to gain momentum. This technology allows you to start up defective glass and cullet for recycling, re-launching it into the process of manufacturing glass products. It brings clear benefits, which are savings in the purchase of raw materials, increased energy efficiency of production, as well as ensuring environmental friendliness for the environment.

Glass containers are disposed of in two ways: through recycling and secondary use... The first implies the collection of broken glass containers and further processing by sorting, grinding to a powder state and sending to production. The second one uses a whole glass container without damage, which, after cleaning and processing, is released on the second round for sale.

Feature Russian market is the use of the second method.

Glass processing plants in Russia about 97% of glass is used for a repeated production cycle in the form of a whole, unbroken container. And only three percent of the collected material is cullet, which is used as raw material in the future. In general, glass processing in Russia is already an established process, worked out in many settlements. The collection is carried out in general in all cities, which is explained by the ease of accumulation of this material and the high interest of enterprises for the processing of glass products. This guarantees them profitability in further production.

in Russia is mainly formed due to the internal collection of used raw materials, cullet and used containers are almost not imported. The basis of consumption of processing plants is colorless transparent glass (BS), the share of which exceeds 50%. Also, a significant role in this process is played by containers made of green (GS) - about 20% - and brown glass (KS) - about 15%.

Recycling provides the following benefits to glass factories:

• for every 10% of the total mass of raw materials replaced by cullet, the energy consumption is reduced by 2-3 percent;
• glass, due to its 100% recyclability, ensures closed loop production that does not leave behind additional waste;
• each ton of cullet used saves a ton of natural raw materials, which includes about 600 kilograms of sand and about 200 kilograms of soda and limestone;
• recycling glass allows Russia to save more than ten thousand hectares of land annually.

Glass cullet is a versatile raw material used not only for re-production of glass products, but also for many special materials popular in Russia. The main promising direction for its application on this moment is the receipt of foam glass. It is an excellent highly porous thermal insulation material that is widely used in construction. Also, cullet is widely used to create fine-grained concrete from it and special binders that can quickly harden. These materials have high protective, anti-corrosion, antiseptic properties.

This recycled glass widely used in materials and products where the initial purity of the glass is not important. Their list includes:

• ceramic plumbing;
• fluxes for brick production;
• filters for water;
• various abrasives;
• insulating materials.

Glass processing plants

A modern glass processing plant is a complex of technologically advanced robotic devices that ensure sorting, cleaning and processing of glass to the required condition required for further use in production.

Such premises are usually equipped with various dimensional equipment and have many warehouses on their territory. Quality glass processing plants have the following systems and accessories available:

• warehouses located on the territory of production to provide a temporary location for glass breakage and various defective products;
• loading and transportation systems for the delivery of raw materials on the glass processing line;
• conveyor belt installations;
• optoelectronic equipment for sorting glass broken by color and shade;
• electromagnetic equipment for screening metal parts (lids, packaging parts) from recycled glass;
• water cannons, cleaning glass from dirt and paper stickers;
• crushers with rollers of various sizes, which grind broken glass in several passes to a powder state suitable for use in glass batch;
• packaging equipment that packs finished glass powder into big bags for shipment to glass factories, as well as prepares whole glass containers for reuse.

Dozens of such factories have already been established not only abroad, but also in Russia, which stably and efficiently perform their valuable work on glass recycling.

Glass recycling business

Glass recycling - business quite lucrative if properly arranged. Everything more people attracted by this promising and clean type of earnings. Indeed, unlike waste paper and PET containers, glass recycling can bring the greatest profit. Depending on the mood of the process, recycling glass can be profitable for re-production regardless of the season. Every wealthy person can open a mini-glass processing plant, the main thing is to draw up a clear business plan that will help avoid large investments.

The approximate cost of starting such a business is estimated at more than 300 thousand rubles, which, given an average market saturation, can quickly pay off due to assistance from the state in the form of subsidies. In many regions, there are state programs for the issuance of cash loans with low interest rates, as well as those with a high loyalty to registration and taxation. The construction of a mini-factory for glass processing will be good deed and the state understands this, providing worthy support. Also, a big plus, which will increase profits, is that the cost of raw materials is scanty, and the entrepreneur will get more than half of it for free, if only he disposed of this waste that takes up useful space.

To organize your glass processing business, you first need to select the right building that can accommodate several workshops, and have the possibility of expanding production in the future. Most of the space is usually used as a warehouse for collecting cullet and containers. The rest depends on the volume of planned processing and the size of the purchased equipment.

To begin with, you should not chase the organization of a full cycle for the processing of glass and the production of finished glass products from it: this is enough expensive pleasure which, if designed incorrectly, can ruin you. It's worth starting small. For example, from the arrangement of an enterprise for the collection of cullet and its processing for future sale to full-fledged factories for the production of products from such materials. Over time, when establishing the manufacturing process and receiving stable income, it is possible to modernize production by adding new executive lines and equipment to it that perform new tasks.

Industrial glass processing is a complex and time-consuming process that requires intelligent organization and monitoring of technological standards. Only when hard work investments will start to pay off steadily and please the owner with a high income due to the disposal of the surrounding area from glass debris. This business idea is one of the best for aspiring entrepreneurs thanks to government support.

Those interested in the future of Russia in the processing of glass waste, as well as those wishing to open their own business for recycling cullet, should visit the Mir Stekla exhibition held in early June, which will be located in the Expocentre Fairgrounds.

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Glassware and shards can be stored for centuries, cluttering up the planet, but with rational waste management, they can repeatedly serve as raw materials for new useful products. Even a small glass processing plant can save a lot of natural resources, benefit the environment and become a source of stable income.

Glass is made from natural raw materials, therefore, even in the form of waste, it does not pose a great threat to the environment. Toxic substances it does not emit, but it also does not lend itself to natural decomposition.

Domestic and foreign experience

V Western countries the issue of recycling valuable waste is approached with great responsibility; cullet recycling is already a well-established business. The fight against garbage is regulated at the legislative level, supported by state subsidies, and violation of the rules threatens with administrative punishment in the form of fines.

One of mandatory conditions an efficient solution is separate garbage collection:

• More than 16 thousand tons of glass containers are processed in Great Britain every year. The problem of necessity is widely covered in the press, interschool competitions are organized, bonuses are paid.
• In Germany, companies that collect glass containers supply refined and sorted material to glass processing plants. To distribute the fragments by color, automated optoelectronic systems are used - such equipment for recycling glass waste allows you to speed up the sorting process and get high quality raw materials, and therefore a great profit for the business.
• In Hungary, stationary containers have been installed to collect used glass bottles and other products, and travel to business centers and the residential sector is also practiced.

Russians are not yet ready to follow foreign experience and to separate collection waste is treated with obvious reluctance, so glass recycling in Russia is just starting to gain momentum. As a matter of fact, our citizens have not yet been given such opportunities - there are very few specially equipped places for separate collection of garbage. Therefore, at the moment, glass processing as a business will be most profitable when organizing collection points for glass containers.

Recycling of glass containers in Russia is an opportunity to reduce the disposal of glass to landfills, save resources and electricity, the consumption of which is much higher in the production of glass from the zero cycle.

What glass is to be processed

Glass Container Factory accepts double-glazed windows, various subjects interior, dishes and so on. There are some types of glass that cannot be reused - these are mirrors, triplex, products where reinforcing mesh is used, refractory raw materials.

Already on initial stage it is important to sort, since there is state standard, according to which this raw material is divided into two grades:

• I grade - clean waste without impurities, the size of which is 10 - 50 mm
• Grade II - cullet of irregular size, in which an insignificant content of foreign organic impurities, clay and sand is allowed.

For more efficient use of raw materials, you will also need to sort them by color. Mixed raw materials are the cheapest commodity on the market, and recycled materials are of limited use. Abroad in recent times equipment for processing glass containers includes a sorting line that successfully replaces manual labor.

Processing plant equipment

Glass processing is a business that is built on a very cheap raw material base, but requires investments in technological equipment. For the minimum processing of cullet necessary for its sale to factories or performing subsequent technological operations in order to obtain a finished product, complex equipment for processing glass waste is used, which includes:

1. Loading hopper, which receives glass containers.
2. The vibrating feeder with motor ensures a continuous flow of cullet.
3. A conveyor belt with a protective flap, along which the raw material is transported for sorting.
4. The sorting conveyor directs the entire glass stream into the washing drum. At this stage, there is a manual removal of foreign objects.
5. The washing drum performs hydrotreating of raw materials and their separation into fractions, according to size.
6. The inertial screen sieves out large elements to be crushed.

This is the minimum equipment for recycling glass waste. The line can be modified by adding another conveyor that will redirect the coarse feed for additional grinding. Another very useful piece of equipment is the vortex magnet, whose job it is to weed out the aluminum elements that are often found in broken glass.

Relevance of glass processing in Russia

Despite the large reserves of raw materials, the development of glass processing production in Russia is a very urgent task today. On average, the inhabitants of our country throw out 1.2 million tons of unnecessary glass containers annually. No more than 35% of this raw material is processed for processing. That is why glass processing in Russia needs state support and providing an informative base on the relevance and benefits of collecting cullet.

Even without precise mathematical calculations, one can imagine how much the amount of unused waste can increase, if already today we do not take drastic measures to solve this problem.

Glass waste business can be more than just profitable business, but also the salvation of the ecological component of our country. At least one glass processing plant in each locality can significantly improve the current situation and benefit for themselves and the environment from free raw materials, which are currently wasted aimlessly in landfills.

Broken glass is that kind of solid household waste which our society produces on a daily basis in immense volumes.

Broken dishes, light bulbs, window glass, empty bottles and cans - sending all this to a landfill, few people think that in nature this garbage cannot be decomposed. Meanwhile, glass is perfectly recyclable, making it possible to free up huge areas in landfills for storing solid waste and not occupy new ones. Ideally, when we come to a separate collection of waste, when glass waste, plastic, paper, etc. are collected separately. And to separate garbage collection (see).

To make glass you need a large number of sand, limestone and soda ash, whose natural reserves are not unlimited. One ton of broken glass is equivalent to a ton of natural raw materials! In Europe, they are well aware of this, so more than 80 percent broken glass goes into processing.

Glass recycling is a great business!

Even without taking into account the environmental point, glass recycling is a great opportunity to start your own business. Colossal financial costs will not be required, but payback can be expected in a very short time... It should be added that glass is completely recycled, so production does not harm the environment.

This market segment is notable for the fact that there are no problems both with suppliers of raw materials for processing and with consumers of the final product. In many industries, scrap glass is willingly used. For example, in metallurgy, adding 20 percent of cullet to the charge (mixture that goes into the melting) saves 4 to 6% of energy resources. In addition, the amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere is significantly reduced:

• by 20% - sulfur dioxide;
• 16% fine dust;
• 8% - nitric oxide.

Various materials are produced from raw glass:

• glass powder of various fractions;
• fine-grained concrete (foam is mineralized by cullet powder, while the proportion of glass chips can reach 95%);
• alkaline earth and slag-bed binder (the proportion of glass is from 6.5% to 45%);
• silicate heat insulators;
• materials for radiation protection;
• foam glass (insulating material with excellent heat-insulating and fire-resistant qualities, as well as preventing the settlement of insects and rodents).

"Recycled glass" is successfully used in the production of:

• ceramic sanitary ware;
• water filters;
• bricks (as fluxes);
• large assortment abrasive materials;
• as the basis for the top layer of the covering of sports facilities;
• insulating materials.

Glass recycling stages

Glass recycling steps may vary depending on the requirements for final product... But the main stages of the technology remain unchanged:

• collection,
• delivery (transportation),
• processing (sorting, separation, washing, cleaning, drying),
• splitting up,
• adding additives (if necessary), various fillers, gas-forming agents;
• manufacturing of final products.

As in other industries, the quality of the final product directly depends on the raw materials. In particular - from its purity, for which the separation equipment is responsible, which includes a lot of filter elements, different mesh grids, catchers, magnets.

In our country, glass containers are banally thrown into the trash. Yes, sometimes I had to watch attempts public services or even businessmen to put special containers near their houses for receiving glass containers, but these attempts were unsuccessful.

Every day in cities with a population of over one million, tons of glass end up in the trash heap, which can be recycled and sold. Such a business is promising today, because it is low competitive, therefore, it has a chance to become profitable. In Europe and America, companies recycling waste, enjoy some tax benefits. I don’t know if there are such benefits in our country, but even if they don’t exist, the likelihood of their appearance is not excluded. But enough of the lyrics, let's get down to business.

How to start a glass recycling business?

Well, it's easy to guess that you have to start from the reception of glass containers. At a minimum, it is necessary to install special waste bins for glass bottles at each entrance of each house. And to make them so attractive that people would not be too lazy to separate glass from ordinary rubbish.

Another option is a collection point for glass containers, where you have to pay money for glass. The cheapest option is to climb through the trash heaps and dig up glass bottles and jars - this is where a "treasure trove of garbage" is buried, which can later become a big profit.

If you show your imagination, you can come up with a lot of ways to extract glass: conclude an agreement with beer companies to supply you with defective beer bottles, for example. There are those in every production brewery. This will provide a sufficiently large inflow of raw materials for further processing.

Business equipment

The processing process involves 2 stages:

Stage 1: the glass is cleaned of all unnecessary things: labels, glue, metal covers.

Stage 2: the container is fed to the processing line. It is this stage that is the main one. It is supposed to use special equipment. There are special ones that have low performance. One of these factories in the video:

It is difficult to say how much the production line will cost, but I guess at least $ 100,000. In many ways, the price depends on the configuration of the line: after all, you can simply crush the material for a certain fraction, or you can melt it. The last method (melting with gas) is the most promising, because this processed product will be sold much more actively, because it is used to produce:

1. Tiles and bricks;
2. Glass materials;
3. Water filters;
4. Insulation materials, etc.

The sales market is not just big, it is huge. Recyclable materials in the form of recycled glass are now in demand, so it should not go to waste. This is a relatively free niche for Russia, which has great prospects in future. It is possible that the government will soon create incentives for enterprises that make regions cleaner, so doing such a thing is profitable, pleasant and useful!