Westminster glazes over

Westminster Highways decided on the move after attending a London Remade seminar, which highlighted the potential applications for the city’s recycled glass.

London Remade is a partnership that incorporates businesses, London boroughs and regional governments, the waste management industry and the not-for-profit sector (see related story). Through a £20 million programme it is seeking to develop and diversify the markets for recycled materials.

As part of their venture London Remade provide ‘Eco-Sites’ where glass that has been collected is processed and can be brought back by local councils. For the Stratford project, Westminster has brought back glass bottle waste which it will use as a sub-layer for roads.

“If each London Borough were to follow this initiative and used this product for their resurfacing needs, over the next three years at least 75,000 tonnes of mixed glass could be diverted from landfill and back into the capital’s infrastructure,” said Colin Roberts, Chairman of London Remade.

“Westminster are delighted to be working with London Remade and be involved in this initiative to recycle more of the Capital’s waste glass,” said Westminster City Councillor Judith Warner. “We will be looking closely at the results of this trial and considering future uses for this material,” she added.