Fibreglass Recycling

• What is glass reinforced plastic?
• Can you recycle fibreglass?
• How is fibreglass recycled?
• Why is fibreglass recycling important?

Glass reinforced plastic (GRP) – also known as fibreglass – is a composite material made from two materials with different physical or chemical properties. It’s a type of plastic reinforced with fine fibres made of glass and resin. This makes it a strong, durable, lightweight, and flexible material with many uses.

GRP is waterproof, easy to repair, and rot and impact resistant. There are more than 40,000 applications of fibreglass across many industries. Initially, fibreglass was developed in the 1930s for use as an insulation material for buildings. Today it’s used for everything from boat manufacturing to wind turbines.

You can recycle fibreglass, but the process is less common than recycling other types of plastics and comes with various challenges. Recycling fibreglass is possible at facilities with the appropriate equipment. However, this equipment is expensive, which is why many waste management sites and recycling centres don’t recycle fibreglass waste.

With more products made from GRP, there’s now more waste produced and a greater demand to recycle fibreglass. For example, wind turbine blades made from fibreglass last for 20 years and then need disposing of. Unfortunately, many have been landfilled. This isn’t a sustainable solution with wind turbine blades expected to create 200,000 tons of waste by 2034.

The main challenge with recycling fibreglass is that shredding or grinding destroys many of the glass fibres. This reduces their size, strength, and usefulness for future applications. There’s also no easy way to separate the plastic and glass fibres to recycle and process each material individually.

Due to the glass fibre content, you can’t recycle fibreglass or GRP with other types of plastic. Therefore, it must not be stored with plastic waste to avoid contaminating the stream. It’s also tricky to recycle fibreglass at home, as few local authorities or councils will recycle fibreglass waste. You can contact us at Business Waste for help.

Fibreglass recycling is important because there’s more of the material in use than ever before, which leads to more waste being created. Recycling is a sustainable solution as it ensures most of the material is put to good use rather than ending up in landfill, where its chemical contents can leach into the ground and air.

Fibreglass does not decompose in landfill as it’s strong, designed not to rot, and can’t be broken down by microorganisms. Incinerating fibreglass waste can also release emissions and greenhouse gases that contribute to pollution levels. While recycling rarely turns it into new fibreglass and there’s little demand for recycled fibreglass products, recycling is still better for the environment.

Recycling fibreglass for businesses also lowers your commercial waste disposal costs. It reduces the amount of landfill tax you must pay to get rid of waste fibreglass as it’s recycled rather than going to a landfill site. This saves your company money and helps protect the environment rather than adding tons of salvageable fibreglass waste to landfill.

To dispose of GRP waste from your business you must arrange commercial waste collection by licensed waste carriers. It can’t be stored and removed with the rest of your plastic waste, unlike most other types of plastic. Instead, you should dispose of GRP separately and responsibly by following these steps:

• Start with a free no obligation quote for GRP/fibreglass waste collection. Simply tell us the amount of waste fibreglass you’ve got so we can work out the best type and size of bins, how often you need them collected, and your UK location for a bespoke quote.
• We’ll deliver free bins to store your fibreglass safely onsite – you just cover the collection costs. Place your old fibreglass products and offcuts in these bins and containers within their max fill lines and weight limits, separate from other plastic waste.
• Take your bins over to the agreed collection point ahead of the removal time. Licensed waste carriers will come and remove your fibreglass waste and replace your bins if you’ve arranged regular collections.
• The fibreglass waste will be transported to an appropriate waste management facility that has the equipment and processes in place to recycle fibreglass. It will be checked, sorted, and recycled via the method the facility uses.
• You’ll receive a free duty of care certificate confirming the safe, legal, and responsible storage, removal, and disposal of your waste fibreglass.