How Yorkshire firm is diverting glass from landfill and supporting community projects through recycling scheme

The initiative enables customers and local tradespeople to recycle glass from old windows and doors. The glass is collected by Morley Glass when the firm delivers new blind units and then goes through a glass crushing machine to create cullet – crushed glass – at its Leeds site.

The cullet is bagged into one-tonne bags which are collected by Saint-Gobain Glass, which then transports the cullet to its glass factory at Eggborough near Selby. There, the firm processes the material to remove any impurities before using it as a raw material in place of materials including sand.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said the partnership had developed a model they hope others can adopt across the country, giving the industry a viable way to end “a wasteful and potentially costly practice”. “What started off as a small concept is growing at our side at a phenomenal rate of knots," Ian says. “It’s saving a phenomenal amount of glass from going to landfill.”

The initiative started life in 2021 as a small scale internal operation to recycle waste glass such as off-cuts from the Morley Glass factory, but has quickly grown and is now open to a number of local window installers. When it comes to impact, the scheme has been praised for reducing needless landfill waste, as well as cutting the volumes of virgin raw materials needed to make glass, and saving energy – turning cullet into new glass requires less energy than using other raw materials.

“To date, more than 1,300 tonnes of cullet has been diverted away from going to landfill which has saved the need for more than 1,700 tonnes of sand in the glass-making process and cut CO2 emissions by over 1,000 tonnes,” Morley Glass states. "The service is also helping installers save thousands of pounds every year on their waste disposal costs because they require fewer landfill skips.”

Cash that is generated through the production of cullet is placed into a Morley Glass fund called GreenVision to help charities, groups and individuals who are working to improve their local community through environmental or social projects.

Grants of £500 are awarded to anyone who qualifies, and so far, have benefitted good causes ranging from ‘village in bloom’ groups to a scheme to support young entrepreneurs. “It’s been quite inspiring seeing some of the schemes the money goes to,” says Ian. Among the stand outs for him are schools using the cash to grow plants, fruit and vegetables, and making flower gardens for bees. He is also proud to have supported a project that reuses the silver linings of crisp packets, turning them into heat reflective and waterproof items for homeless people living on the streets of Leeds.

“What started out as a simple business improvement idea has now snowballed into an initiative that is delivering far-reaching benefits at a time when environmental and social sustainability have become priorities,” Ian says. "The more waste glass we are able to collect and process, the more support we can provide through GreenVision to local people and groups who are giving up their time to improve their local environment or deliver social benefits.”

The scheme is not the only way the firm is working to be more sustainable – and its waste products don’t stop at glass. The business is also responsible for the disposal of wooden and plastic packaging and works to recycle or reuse items. Wooden boxes, for example, are donated to local schools and community groups, who have turned them into everything from time capsules and treasure chests to toy boxes and display cases. Glass off-cuts are also donated to a local glass artist, who gives them a new lease of life as art and glass wear. Items including bowls and decorations have then been sold to support charities or donated to community groups.

The G Awards recognise and reward excellence in the glass and glazing industry. This year’s ceremony takes place on November 24.