What is the current state of glass recycling in the world? What is the process of glass recycling? What are the uses of recycled glass? What are the advantages of recycled glass as a building material? How do a series of innovations and applications of recycled glass reflect the blue economy? The world uses an estimated 3,200 billion containers of all types to package food and drinks each year - and growing. Nearly everything ends up as waste. Glass is a minor component. The flat glass market is valued at over $50 billion per year. Glass is a $100 billion market. The crushing of used glass into powder, heated up while injecting CO2 creates a foam, lightweight but abrasive, strong and cheap. Since landfills are keen to reduce their load, the recovery of glass on site and the local conversion into glass foam gives way to a new business model: “entrepreneurs get paid to receive raw materials”. The innovation is not limited to cascading of materials whereby the waste of one is an input for the other, the innovation extends to the business model whereby the key ingredients come with cash. In addition, if the factory is located close to (or even on) a landfill, the production facility could benefit from methane gas generated by decomposing organic waste, turning this greenhouse gas into a cheap energy source, and cutting costs while further reducing its adverse impact on climate change.
当前全球玻璃回收的状况如何？玻璃回收的过程是什么？再生玻璃的用途是什么？再生玻璃作为建筑材料的优势是什么？再生玻璃的一系列创新和应用如何反映蓝色经济？全球每年使用大约3200亿个食品和饮料容器进行包装，而且这个数字还在增长。几乎所有的容器最终都会成为废物，其中玻璃只是其中的一小部分。平板玻璃市场每年价值超过500亿美元，而整个玻璃市场价值达到1000亿美元。将废弃玻璃破碎成粉末，并在加热过程中注入二氧化碳可以制成轻质泡沫材料，这种材料既轻便又具有磨蚀性、强度高且成本低廉。由于填埋场渴望减轻负荷，将玻璃在现场回收并本地转化为玻璃泡沫开辟了一种全新的商业模式：“企业家通过接收原材料获取报酬”。创新不仅限于材料的层叠利用，部分废弃物还可能成为其他产品的原材料。创新还延伸到商业模式，其中关键成分本身就带有经济价值。此外，如果工厂位于（甚至直接建在）填埋场附近，生产设施可以从填埋场产生的甲烷气体中获益，将这种温室气体转化为廉价能源，降低成本的同时进一步减少对气候变化的不良影响。
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