The European container glass industry has underlined the practical implementation of circularity during a recent site visit involving the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).
Representatives from FEVE, the European Container Glass Federation, together with partners including FERVER and Verallia, hosted JRC experts at the Infiniver recycling facility in Seville, Spain. The visit provided insights into the full recycling process, from glass sorting to furnace feed preparation.
At the center of the discussions was the role of cullet as a key raw material, enabling used glass packaging to be reintroduced into production in a closed-loop system. According to industry data, approximately 85% of collected glass in Europe is recycled, with a significant share returning to bottle-to-bottle applications.
The visit comes at a time when the European Union is advancing its Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which aims to strengthen recyclability and circular material flows across member states.
Industry stakeholders emphasized the importance of aligning regulatory frameworks with real-world operational conditions, highlighting that glass recycling systems already operate at industrial scale while maintaining consistent material quality across multiple cycles.
The exchange also underlined the value of direct engagement between policymakers and industry, ensuring that future legislation reflects the technical and logistical realities of glass recycling infrastructure.
