Crushing It – Cullet Collecting Charity Cash

Morley Glass has now generated more than 3,000 tonnes of cullet by crushing of post-consumer IGUs it collects from its integral blind customers and generated money for charities.

The company’s scheme, which pioneered the recycling of post-consumer IGUs at scale when it first launched in 2021, allows installers to divert the IGUs extracted from windows and doors during replacement projects away from landfill.

In addition to helping installers save money on waste disposal costs, the scheme helps glass manufacturers reduce the need for virgin raw materials and cut energy use, as well as generate funds for charities and community projects.

Bags and bags

As of August 2026, Morley Glass’ own data shows that it has produced 4,332 bags of cullet directly through the crushing of old IGUs. Approximately one tonne of cullet is generated from every two bags of cullet. However, this can vary, which means the scheme has now surpassed the 3,000-tonne level.

One tonne value

The contribution this makes to energy savings for the industry is illustrated by the fact that one tonne of cullet saves enough energy to power an average home for six months. To date, the volume of cullet generated has equated to 1,674 years of energy saved for an average home.

Sand saving

Carbon emissions have also been cut as a direct result of the recycling scheme, with 2,220 tonnes of CO₂ saved from being emitted into the atmosphere. And the savings on raw material use are significant too, with the demand for virgin sand, which is the main raw material for glass manufacturing, cut by estimated 4,641 tonnes to date.

In the habit

Ian Short, Managing Director, Morley Glass, said: “We’re really proud to have reached the 3,000-tonne milestone in our glass recycling scheme. It is so important that the industry continues to treat post-consumer IGUs as a raw material for re-manufacturing, rather than something that can simply be disposed of and forgotten about.

“We are grateful to all our customers who are making the effort to put their old IGUs to one side so we can collect them when we deliver their new Uni-Blinds integral blind units. Many of our customers are already into a routine that seems as normal as recycling glass, metal and plastics at home, which means we will be able to maintain healthy volumes of cullet production. We will continue to monitor and publish the data.”

Charity contributions

In addition to the resource savings that the Morley Glass scheme provides, it also generates funds for charities, groups and individuals working on projects to improve their local communities through its GreenVision fund. As every penny generated from the cullet goes into the fund, 452 grants have been provided to date to community projects with environmental or social benefit, with causes ranging from school vegetable growing projects and youth clubs, to support for budding athletes and a cat rescue charity.

Picture: Ian Short, the managing director of Morley Glass, with some of the latest bags of cullet the company has generated by collecting and crushing post-consumer IGUs.

www.morleyglass.co.uk