Recycled glass lays new foundation

Source:www.stonediamondtool.com Date:2020/6/9 Read:282

Published: 04 Nov 2015

Glass items popped into kerbside recycling bins have quite literally become the foundation for development in Cairns.

Crushed recycled glass is being used instead of sand in various construction projects, both by Council and private industry.

“Glass accounts for around 40 per cent – or 5000 of the 13,000 tonnes – of recyclable materials collected by Council from residential kerbside bins each year,” Mayor Bob Manning said.

“Of this, only about 1000 tonnes can be recycled into new glass containers and, in the past, we’ve had to send the leftover glass to landfill.

“We now have the capability to crush glass on site down to a degree where it can be used in place of sand or even as a decorative material.”

Known as ReGlass, the product is produced at Council’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at Portsmith.

The crushed glass has been used as bedding for underground pipes and pavers, backfilling around stormwater outlets and retaining walls, to create attractive polished concrete and bench tops and even in decorative mulch.

“It’s also useful in place of sand for levelling construction sites prior to the pouring of concrete,” Cr Manning said. “That is currently happening in a residential development in Trinity Park.”

Kenick Constructions is the first local business to utilise ReGlass, having chosen to use recycled glass in two development projects.

“As firm advocates of more sustainable building practices, and after seeing the Council’s facility where the product is made, along with the passion from the Water and Waste team, we immediately sought approval from our engineers to use ReGlass as an alternative to sand,”Kenick’s Greensmart Professional and Building Consultant Rachel Whymark said. 

“Many other countries, including the UK, Canada and the USA  use recycled glass in construction, so we knew that whilst it is new in Cairns, it was a proven building material that was also cost effective.”

Council has recently used 400 tonnes of ReGlass as a sand substitute for bedding of stormwater and sewer pipes installed at Walker Road.

“The crushing process leaves the glass smooth, so it’s completely safe to use,” Cr Manning said.

“By using ReGlass locally, we are able to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and remove the need to send recyclable glass thousands of kilometres to Brisbane for processing. It also reduces the demand for mining of natural sand for building projects.”