A long term contract has been agreed between Knauf Insulation and Veikua, which will see the creation of a new £10 million glass cullet processing facility next door to Knauf’s manufacturing plant in St Helens. St Helens is widely recognised for its glass production, and this revolutionary facility will play host to tens of thousands of tonnes of recycled glass being cleaned dried and refined before being used in energy saving insulation products.

This new cullet processing facility is set for completion towards the end of this year and will bring with it 18 new jobs for the local area, as well as providing a positive boost for the local economy. Veolia will be operating the new facility, and the crushed glass ‘cullet’ will be melted and spun into the glass mineral wool products that Knauf Insulation will sell to some of the UK’s leading construction firms and housebuilders.

Estelle Brachlianoff is the Senior Executive Vice-President at Veolia UK & Ireland, and she has commented, We are delighted to be investing in the local economy and providing a closed loop solution for glass packaging from our Material Recovery Facilities, including two we operate for Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority and the Merseyside & Halton District Councils.

This will help save raw materials, lessen energy demand, cut CO2 emissions and reduce the amount of materials going to landfill. This facility will be the first of its kind in the UK and means everything from glass bottles to jam jars will be transformed into energy saving insulation products for houses, offices and other buildings.

This new facility is set to be the first of its kind here in the UK and it will ensure the highest quality of glass in circulation, so this new development cannot come quick enough!