For many years, mixed glass containers were the go-to variant for glass disposal, but society is now aware of the need for more sustainability, climate protection, energy cost and certification. In its IG2Pieces system, HEGLA has developed a machine concept that enables the separation of insulating glass into individual undamaged components in order to reuse or recycle them in a downstream process.
Resource conservation and economic efficiency were the focus of the IG2Pieces development. A newly developed separating process that is fast and creates minimal material residue automates the work, which until now was primarily manual. In conjunction with the fully automated determination of the structure of the insulating glass unit, IG2Pieces supports a very high level of productivity. Once panes have been professionally disassembled, recycling or reusing them brings financial added value in comparison with unprocessed used IG units. The impact on the environment is positive: The panes are returned to the float tank to close the material cycle while preserving the high quality of the raw material. Furthermore, one kilogram of float glass that is produced from used glass generates around 0.3 kg less CO2 than the classic glass mixture. Alongside type-specific recycling, the reuse of undamaged panes is an option that increases the recycling rate. Especially for newly produced, large-surface and high-quality insulating glass units, separation and repair generates advantages from a financial viewpoint.
