Leading Sydney recycler WSN Environmental Solutions and joint venture partner Australian Glass Technologies (AGT) have reached their first major milestone with their Chullora glass recycling plant processing its 5,000^th tonne of glass fragments.

The plant, which is fed with broken glass that has been separated from plastic, metal and paper from council collections, has turned the material into high quality, market-ready glass granules.

The facility was commissioned in January this year, with the assistance of a grant from the National Packaging Covenant, to process a stockpile of 120,000 tonnes of glass fragments measuring less than 25 millimetres that were previously difficult to recycle.

WSN Environmental Solutions CEO Ken Kanofski said the milestone was a great result for both the environment and the manufacturing sectors that could use the finished products.

“Not only is this process keeping glass out of landfill, it offers a new solution for manufacturers of bricks, tiles and pavers who can use the glass as a high-quality additive in their products,” Mr Kanofski said.

“The glass granules can also be marketed to makers of fibre glass insulation and are currently being trialled as a water filtration medium.”

In addition to building materials, the recycled glass can also be used as an abrasive in sand blasting, while coloured pieces of glass can be used as decorative features in pot plants.

AGT Director Mark McLeod said tonnages would increase even further, with plans to install a second processing line in December this year.

“We look forward to ramping up the operations even further this year and working with WSN to open up even more new markets in New South Wales,” Mr McLeod said.


Media contact: Aaron Findlay 02 9934 7033 or 0404 080 150.