Morley Glass has revealed that its post-consumer IGU recycling scheme has now saved the need for around 4,000 tonnes of virgin sand in new glass manufacturing, and cut the CO2 emissions resulting from the process by over 1,800 tonnes.

The success of the pioneering, post-consumer IGU recycling scheme launched by Uni-Blinds integral blinds manufacturer Morley Glass in 2021, now means it has saved the need for around 4,000 tonnes of virgin sand in new glass manufacturing, and cut the CO2 emissions resulting from the process by over 1,800 tonnes.

Launched in 2021, the initiative – which was co-developed with Saint-Gobain Glass and is said to have represented the UK’s first successful end-of-life IGU recycling scheme of its kind when it began – involves Morley Glass collecting double and triple glazed units that installers remove during window and door replacement projects and crushing them into cullet.

This is then used for making new building glass by Saint-Gobain, reducing the requirement for raw materials and energy.

The latest data released by Morley Glass shows that up to the end of July 2025, 3,730 bags of cullet have been generated using its dedicated crushing and bagging machine. This equates to 2,469 tonnes of cullet in just four years, reducing virgin sand extraction by 3,978 tonnes.

The total energy savings to date achieved in the glass re-manufacturing process are equally significant, according to Saint-Gobain’s calculations. The cullet generation has now enabled 1,340 ‘energy years’ to be saved, based on the calculation that 1 tonne of cullet saves enough energy to power an average home for six months.

Ian Short, managing director of Morley Glass, said: “Our post-consumer IGU collection and recycling scheme continues to go from strength to strength, which is clearly demonstrated in these latest figures. To put our cullet volumes to date into perspective, 4,000 tonnes is equivalent to the weight of 650 elephants – that’s a huge amount of glass recovered in a relatively short period.

“It is also extremely encouraging to see post-consumer IGU collection and recycling become more widespread across the industry. We are delighted to continue to play our part in helping Uni-Blinds integral blind customers, as well as any local window and door installers, divert their post-consumer glass away from landfill and demonstrate their businesses are operating more sustainably.”

All the revenue that Morley Glass generates from producing cullet as a raw material for new glass manufacture goes into is GreenVision fund. This is used to provide grants to charities, groups and individuals working on projects that will benefit the local community socially or environmentally and, to date, 349 grants have been provided.