Forum discussion

NC-2009 MRc4:Recycled Content

Cullet as recycled material in glass

I have worked on LEED v2.1 projects before where recycled content of glass was rejected due to the cullet present in recycled glass not being allowed to be counted as "pre-consumer" recycled. Is this still true in LEED 2009? Or are they now accepting glass cullet as recycled material?

0

You rely on LEEDuser. Can we rely on you?

LEEDuser is supported by our premium members, not by advertisers.

Go premium for $15.95  »

Fri, 01/25/2013 - 17:37

Cullet does not automatically means the cullet was generated in the same manufacturing process. Cullet is the word use for ground up recycled glass that is ready for remelting for use in a new manufacturing process. Wikipedia mentions cullet as part of the topic for Glass Recycled: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_recycling The v2.1 reviewers who denied cullet as recycled content did not understand what glass cullet is. They apparently thought it was material left over and reused in the same process.

Fri, 01/25/2013 - 18:06

Check that it's not cullet being fed from the end of a production line (as waste in the production process) back into the beginning of the same line. Note in your documentation the source. If you can do that, I would be surprised to see it rejected, and would challenge the review comment.

Wed, 01/30/2013 - 21:23

Thanks you guys for the help! One more thing - would this be listed as "Post-Consumer" or "Pre-Consumer?"

Thu, 01/31/2013 - 00:25

It depends on the source of your recycled glass. Does it come from bottles collected in a recycling program? Then it would be post-consumer. Or is it glass collected from another manufacturing process used by your manufacturer in their process? Then it would be pre-consumer (aka post-industrial).

Thu, 09/05/2019 - 13:15

Cullet is a valuable feedstock that is not intended for discard or disposal. The reutilization of cullet is necessary to optimize the manufacturing processes to reduce waste, energy consumption, and raw material acquisition. Therefore, Vitro does not report post or pre-consumer recycled content in our architectural glass.

Add new comment

To post a comment, you need to register for a LEEDuser Basic membership (free) or login to your existing profile.