Industry players propel glass circularity amid recycling and reuse demands

As consumer commitment to recyclable and reusable glass packaging grows, the industry is working to ensure a circular economy. We speak with The European Container Glass Federation (FEVE), the glass container manufacturer Vetropack Group and Innova Market Insights to hear more about the industry’s latest innovations.

“The European glass industry is making big moves toward a circular economy, putting sustainability and innovation at the forefront. With glass being endlessly recyclable and the safest material for packaging, it’s no surprise it plays such a key role in building a sustainable future,” Michael Delle Selve, head of marketing and communications at FEVE, tells Packaging Insights.

Simone Koch, a communications director at Vetropack, tells us: “Glass offers numerous benefits as a packaging material. It is a natural raw material, free from harmful substances and provides excellent protection for its contents. It is also a perfect material for use in a circular economy as it can be both reused as well as recycled. In fact, glass is 100% recyclable without suffering any loss of quality.”

Katie Reid, customer success analyst at Innova Market Insights, says: “Twenty-seven percent of global new F&B launches tracked with glass packaging have a recyclable claim and continue to grow, with a +4% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) between 2020 and 2024.”

Discussing the same period, she adds: “Although growing from a very small base, ‘reusable’ and ‘made from recycled material’ claims are growing at a faster pace with a CAGR of +34% and +21% respectively.”

Opportunities and challenges

FEVE’s Delle Selve says that beyond the material’s environmental sustainability properties, the glass industry is a significant economic driver, “directly employing around 44,000 people across Europe.”

“For every direct job, nearly two additional roles are supported. The economic contribution is equally impressive, generating €4 billion (US$4.1 billion) in gross value added directly and €9.5 billion (US$9.9 billion) when including indirect contributions.”

Glass is a natural raw material, free from harmful substances and provides “excellent” product protection.This allows the sector to continue investing “heavily” in its decarbonization. “Each year, the industry spends over €600 million (US$623 million) on energy efficiency projects, plant modernization and the development of low-carbon technologies.”

“To achieve its ambitious net-zero target by 2050, an estimated €20 billion (US$20.7 billion) in additional capital expenditure will be needed to upgrade production processes and adopt greener technologies. This includes trials of electric and hydrogen-powered furnaces, which are already showing promise in reducing the carbon footprint of glass production,” he adds.

“But there are challenges too,” Delle Selve continues. “Glass collection systems vary significantly across Europe, making it difficult to achieve uniform recycling rates.”

“Contamination is another issue — keeping recycled glass free of impurities like ceramics and plastics is essential to maintaining quality. These hurdles require innovative solutions and collaborative efforts.”

Technology plays a crucial role in solving these challenges. “Advanced sorting systems are improving the efficiency of recycling, while hybrid furnaces and trials with biofuels and green hydrogen are helping to decarbonize production further,” says Delle Selve.

Recycle and reuse

FEVE’s Delle Selve says that glass is “uniquely” suited for a circular economy due to its infinite recyclability — “it can be melted down and reused without losing any quality.” 

“Some glass bottles are designed for multiple uses, capable of being refilled up to 50 times before being recycled. Even after multiple cycles, glass remains the safest material for food-grade packaging, ensuring no harmful chemicals migrate into the contents.”

Innova Market Insights’ Reid points out that: “When looking at recyclable glass packaging for 2020–2024, West Europe accounts for over two in five new F&B launches tracked. Although we are seeing the highest growth in Africa [+21% CAGR] and the Middle East [+3% CAGR].”

According to Vetropack’s Koch there has also been a growing trend toward reusable glass packaging over the past few years. “This is in part driven by national and international regulations. In Austria, for instance, at least 25% of beverages sold must be in reusable containers.”

There is a growing trend toward reusable glass packaging.Decarbonizing the glass container industry

Delle Selve points to FEVE’s recently published 2024 decarbonization report, supported by all FEVE members, which details how European manufacturers are working to improve their environmental performance by reducing their carbon footprint. f

“A standout initiative is the Close the Glass Loop program, which aims to achieve a 90% collection rate for glass recycling by 2030. This effort ensures that the quality of the recycled material is high enough to turn it back into new bottles and jars,” he says.

“Manufacturers are developing hybrid furnaces powered by renewable electricity. These ‘Furnaces of the Future’ are expected to cut CO2 emissions by up to 50%, paving the way for greener production.”

Meanwhile, Koch tells us that Vetropack’s portfolio aims to ensure circularity and decarbonization. “For nearly a decade, Vetropack has been researching tempered lightweight glass bottles. This resulted in the recent launch of the world’s first reusable bottle made of tempered lightweight glass.”

“Boasting a weight reduction of up to 30% and significantly less scuffing than standard bottles, the lightweight bottles make a major contribution to making reusable glass bottles even more sustainable. The innovative technology reduces the logistics expenditures and carbon emissions per bottle.”

She adds that these robust bottles can be reused more often than their conventional counterparts. “Using this technology, Vetropack and major players of the Austrian brewing industry introduced a 0.33 L bottle as the standard reusable solution for the industry in February 2024.”

Consumer interest in recyclability 

The newly released Innova Market Insights’ data indicates an overall average annual growth for F&B launches with glass packaging and sustainability claims of 3% between 2019 and 2024.

Glass is often considered a healthier alternative and more sustainable F&B packaging option.“Zooming in on the categories behind these trends, alcoholic beverages, sauces and seasonings each hold the highest percentage shares at 30%. We are seeing that meat substitutes, pet food and hot drinks are showing the highest growth in new F&B launches tracked with glass packaging and a recyclable claim,” says Reid.

Further, 32% of consumers globally are willing to pay more for products with a sustainability aspect, including recyclability and reusability.

“Thirty-four percent of consumers globally are positively influenced by sustainable packaging-related aspects in terms of their product choice, with 31% of consumers globally specifically being positively influenced by an increased percentage of recycled content used to make the packaging.”

Vetropack’s Koch points to the health aspect of consumer interest in glass: Besides the environmental aspects, glass packaging releases fewer harmful substances compared to other packaging materials.”

“This is particularly true for reusable packaging which needs to withstand rigorous cleaning. For this reason, glass is often considered a healthier alternative as well as a more sustainable one for packaging a variety of F&B.”