EWC Code
Wastes from manufacture of glass and glass products
EUR-Lex Commission Decision 2000/532/EC — Official Journal L 226, 06/09/2000Annual Volume
4.8 million tonnes/year EU glass production waste
Valorisation Range
€220M cullet and glass waste market
Primary Route
Glass furnace cullet remelting
Need verified buyer contacts with location-specific pricing?
Get contacts for EWC 10 11Glass manufacturing generates waste glass (cullet), refractory waste, batch dust and off-gas treatment residues as primary waste streams. In-house cullet from glass furnace operations is remelted directly as the highest-priority recovery route, typically comprising 20–30% of furnace batch in primary production. Every 10% increase in cullet use reduces furnace energy consumption by approximately 2.5% and CO₂ emissions proportionally.
Refractory waste from glass tank furnace rebuilds arises every 5–12 years per furnace. Silica and alumina refractories from the melting zone contain residual glass and chromium oxide from checker brickwork, potentially requiring hazardous waste classification. Furnace dust collected in bag filters contains fine glass, batch carryover and volatilised lead, arsenic and barium from specialty glass formulations.
Specialty glass production (optical, borosilicate, lead crystal, CRT) generates waste streams with specific regulatory requirements. Lead crystal cullet containing >24% PbO requires management as hazardous waste. CRT glass contains lead in the panel and cone glass (up to 25% PbO in cone) and barium in panel glass; processing requires licensed e-waste facility. Commission Regulation 1179/2012 establishes end-of-waste criteria for cullet (excluding CRT and lead glass).
Typical Generators
Established valorisation pathways for EWC 10 11, ranked by economic value and market depth. Glass furnace cullet remelting is the primary route.
Clean cullet from production defects is returned to furnace batch as direct energy-saving raw material substitution. Colour-sorted container glass cullet from MRF sorting is sold to container glass furnaces. Flat glass cullet returned to float glass furnace if within composition specifications.
Mixed or contaminated cullet not suitable for furnace remelting is used as road sub-base aggregate (glasphalt), filtration media for water treatment, sandblasting media and drainage aggregate. Ground glass powder is used as pozzolanic cement replacement or filler in plastics and rubber.
Lead glass (CRT cone, lead crystal) is processed by specialist licensed operators using hydrometallurgical lead recovery or direct remelt for lead alloy production. Refractory containing chromium(VI) from checker brickwork is disposed to hazardous landfill after testing.
These are the established routes for EWC 10 11. Which one your stream qualifies for depends on its composition, volume and region.
Get the ranked options for your streamPrimary & secondary off-takers
Remelt clean float glass cullet in furnace batch to reduce energy and raw material costs
Use colour-sorted container glass cullet as principal furnace batch component
Use crushed glass as supplementary cementitious material or fine aggregate in concrete
Process CRT and lead crystal glass waste for lead recovery at licensed WEEE facility
Source: NACE Rev.2 — Eurostat, 2008
Key legislative frameworks governing EWC 10 11 classification, transport, and treatment.
Glass manufacturing furnaces above 20 tonnes/day melt capacity require installation permit. Glass BREF specifies BAT-AELs: SO₂ <200 mg/Nm³, NOₓ <500 mg/Nm³, particulate <10 mg/Nm³ from furnace stack. Lead glass melting requires additional BAT for lead emissions: <5 mg/Nm³.
RoHS restricts lead in most electrical and electronic equipment glass to <1000 ppm. CRT glass is exempt for recycling purposes but must be processed at registered WEEE facilities. Lead crystal glass must be declared under REACH SVHC obligations.
Commission Regulation 1179/2012 establishes end-of-waste criteria for glass cullet (excluding CRT and lead glass). Cullet meeting purity specifications achieves product status and can be traded without waste documentation, facilitating circular economy in container glass.
Leave your work email. Our industrial desk sends verified company contacts with location-specific pricing and contract minimums for wastes from manufacture of glass and glass products — not generic benchmarks.
Reviewed by our industrial desk within 1 business day.
Sectors that valorise EWC 10 11 as an input material or secondary raw material.
Waste-stream pages and resources connected to EWC 10 11 valorisation.
Explore EU waste flows — Waste Atlas
Visualise 17 years of E-PRTR industrial facility data. See how EWC 10 11 and related waste streams flow across European industries and sectors.
Source: EUR-Lex Commission Decision 2000/532/EC · NACE Rev.2 — Eurostat 2008
Browse all EWC codes