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The sustainable magic of glass

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Abstract

The realisation that our throwaway society is unstainable is growing; raw materials are finite resources, while waste disposal and energy consumption are polluting the world around us. This article considers the glass industry in its widest sense, examining its pro-active approach to recycling, its efforts to produce glass with a zero carbon footprint, and ways in which its products help to reduce our wider impact on the environment. While the focus is mainly on containers, flat glass, energy generating solar cells and wind turbines, products such as art glass and for health care are also mentioned.

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Fig. 1

Source: www.closetheglassloop.eu

Fig. 2

Source: HM Treasury (2013) and Green Construction Board (2013), reproduced under the terms of the Open Government Licence (Crown Copyright 2013) [9]

Fig. 3

Source http://www.agc-glass.eu/sustainability/environmental-achievements/air

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Data Availability Statement

No data associated in the manuscript.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Cerámica y Vidrio (CSIC), Kelsen 5, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Alicia Durán

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK

    John M. Parker

Authors
  1. Alicia Durán
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  2. John M. Parker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to John M. Parker.

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Durán, A., Parker, J.M. The sustainable magic of glass. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 138, 1147 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04713-8

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