Enva - a major processor of glass - has warned of the dangers of removing dedicated bulk collections (bring banks) in favour of co-mingled kerbside collections which can result in less material being of high enough quality to reuse in the manufacturing of new glass bottles or jars. As a result, it is more likely to be destined for use as an aggregate in landscaping, road building or construction.

The ultimate consequence is the loss of this material forever and any future value that would have been realised from its ability to be continually recycled, failing on the ideal of a circular economy.

Barry Phillips, Director - Enva Northern Ireland, discusses why recent moves to replace dedicated single stream glass collections with comingled services have the potential to seriously damage both environmental and economic performance. Read his article here.