Recycled Glass Market

Recycled Glass Market Size

The global recycled glass market was estimated at USD 4.2 billion in 2024. The market is expected to grow from USD 4.5 billion in 2025 to USD 7.3 billion in 2034, at a CAGR of 5.6%, according to latest report published by Global Market Insights Inc.

• Government initiatives and environmental regulations are driving adoption of recycled glass. The Circular Economy Action Plan of the European Union, and like measures around the world, are setting higher and higher requirements on recycled content in packaging and construction materials. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs are coming up in various jurisdictions, which challenge manufacturers to take responsibility for their products throughout their entire lifespan, thus incentivizing manufacturers to use recycled feedstock.
  
• Widespread applications offered for recycled glass in various industries are the hallmark for sustained market growth. The automotive industry has increasingly been incorporating recycled glass products, with original equipment manufacturers pledging an integration of approximately 30,000 metric tons of recycled fiber by 2025. The packaging industry still represents the greatest market share, with glass bottles and containers taking up 42% of market applications in 2024.
  
• Process and technological improvements make recycled glass an economically feasible and far more technically superior contender. Energy consumption in regard to recycling operations has been curtailed by 20 to 30% as compared to new glass production while, new processing techniques can enable the production of recycled glass which has properties that put it at par with even better than virgin materials. Modern sorting and purification tools help in generating better quality cullet and, further enabling a wider scope of application of recycled glass goods.
  

Recycled Glass Market Trends

• Increasing adoption of recycled glass in sustainable construction projects- Recycled glass as a material is highly demanded by the construction sector, especially with the rise of the green building initiatives and sustainable design requirements. This kind of glass continues to be preferred as aggregate for concrete, decorative products and insulation materials. The most modern processing technologies have benumbed the production of glass aggregates meeting the stringent standards for construction with the added possibility of serving as cheaper alternatives to conventional materials.
  
• Growing demand for recycled glass in packaging, driven by eco-friendly regulations - Environment regulations and commitments to corporate sustainability build demand in packaging applications for recycled glass. The Union of European Countries, for example, pursues ambitious targets related to glass packaging recycling to reach a collection rate by 2030 of 90%, while still maintaining the current average rate of 80.1%. Closed-loop recycling systems have been enacted by the companies within the walls of the food and beverage space, while some manufacturers have achieved up to 82% recycled content in placing glass containers.
  
• Advancements in glass recycling technology enhancing processing efficiency and quality- Revolutionizing technologies are in glass recycling, such as with AI systems and optical sorting, where they achieve color and composition identification of more than 99.8%. This latest sorting technology sorts as much as 70 bottles a minute, recognizes associating contaminants, and directs robotic arms for sorting, while tremendously rising processing efficiency and quality of the end product. This result of minimizing human labor has ensured safety increases for workers in recycling facilities.
  

Recycled Glass Market Analysis

Learn more about the key segments shaping this market

Download Free PDF

The product segmentation for recycled glass reveals considerable differences in market shares, growth rates, and applications between and among the various types of recycled glass materials. With a huge market share of 74.6% in 2024, cullet is by far the most popular recycled glass material accepted by container glass manufacturers and has established its own processing infrastructure. The cullet segment enjoys well established collection systems along with quality specifications that allow effective closed-loop recycling operations.

Scaling laws were adhered to in the processing of cullet. Key companies such as Strategic Materials, Inc. have been operating networks in excess of 40 facilities across North America with an aggregate capacity of more than 2 million tons per year. Demand has steadily grown from container manufacturers wanting to save on energy costs in line with increasing sustainability, which saw a decline in the CAGR of the segment to 5.3%. Cullet producers are also benefitting from advanced optical sorting technologies which afford purity levels greater than 99% and color separation standards enabling premium product use in glass applications.

Crushed glass constitutes the second largest product segment, holding a 20.9% market share in 2024 and widely being put to applications ever-increasingly in construction and industrial markets. Crushed glass finds its applications in concrete aggregate, road base material, landscaping products, and filtration media. Crushed glass also minimizes waste, in that its applications do not strictly rely on virgin-grade materials, thus permitting the processing of mixed-color glass streams along with feedstock contaminated by impurities not acceptable for container manufacture.

Recent technological advancements in crushed glass processing give rise to special classes for special applications. TruAbrasives, a line of reclaimed crushed glass products custom-made as a safer alternative to conventional abrasives, is one such example. With maximum replacement levels reaching 20% for fine aggregates in concrete use, increasing acceptance of recycled glass aggregates in the construction sector is providing impetus for sustained growth in this segment.

Learn more about the key segments shaping this market

Download Free PDF

Application analysis reveals a multitude of end-use markets driving recycled glass demand, with glass bottles and containers retaining market leadership with 42% market share in 2024 despite matured market conditions. This dominance grants it the advantage of a well-established closed-loop recycling infrastructure for container glass and a strong regulatory framework favoring such bottle-to-bottle recycling programs. Furthermore, the segment enjoys energy cost advantages since a 10% increase in cullet content would lower melting energy requirements by approximately 3% for the container glass.

Container glass recycling in developed markets has achieved reasonable scale, whereby collection operations in Europe have recorded an average of 80.1% glass packaging collection. Ardagh Group, one such major producer, has cited an average cullet usage rate of 56% for its operations, representing an external post-consumer recycled content of 38% in its batch composition.

Flat glass applications represent 20.9% of the market share in 2024, indicating a tremendous untapped potential, especially given the lower recycling rates for architectural and automotive glass. Technical barriers to flat glass recycling include longer product life cycles, difficult collection logistics, and strict quality requirements for new flat glass manufacture. However, emerging applications in construction aggregates and specialty products broaden the market opportunities for recycled flat glass materials.

Construction materials represent one of the fast-growing application sectors, which indicate the maturity of this segment and price sensitivity in commodity construction markets. This includes concrete aggregate use for recycled glass, road-base applications, decorative uses, and insulation. This segment has the large volume potential and much less strict quality requirements but also faces competition from other recycled materials and traditional aggregate.

Looking for region specific data?

Download Free PDF

• The U.S. recycled glass market reached USD 742.6 million in 2024 and estimated to grow to almost USD 1.2 billion by 2034. North America is contributing to 22% market share in 2024, with advanced processing technology and strategic consolidation of industries as its characteristics. The region benefits a lot from an extensive Sibelco network with over 40 processing facilities having a combined capacity of exceeding 2 million tons per annum. Amongst the latest strategic developments is the acquisition of Strategic Materials Inc. by Sibelco in 2024, further enhancing its market leadership and processing capabilities.
  
• Europe commands the 38% market share in 2024, supported by mature collection logistics and well-established regulatory frameworks including Extended Producer Responsibility programs and aggressive circular economy targets.
  
• The European leadership reflects decades of investment in recycling industrial setup and in supportive policy frameworks. The average collection rates for glass packaging in the region have reached 80.1%, alongside deposit return systems in thirteen countries that together cover 144.2 million inhabitants. The Sibelco Group runs twenty-three recycling plants across six European countries, thus processing millions of tons of cullet every year under state-of-the-art quality control systems.
  
• Important recent investments in capacity and technology updates in Europe included  USD 85 million in circular economy grants to support modernization at 14 facilities. High-profile projects such as NextGen Furnace, Ardagh Group located in Germany, show the promise of reducing emissions by 65-70% via hybrid electric-gas technology and greater utilization of renewable energy.
  
• The recycled glass market in Asia-Pacific is gaining momentum, encouraged by fast urbanization, growth of manufacturing, and increased level of environmental awareness. China leads consumption in this region, being heavily invested by the government in recycling infrastructure and policies that support circular economy principles. About 60,000 metric tons of recycling capacity has come on stream in 2023 in the region with special emphasis on integrated processing complexes in the provinces of Guangdong.
  

Recycled Glass Market Share

The global recycled glass market displays a moderately concentrated structure of competition, with the top five players Sibelco, Vetropack Holding, Owens-Illinois, Ardagh Group, Momentum Recycling controlling about 51% of total market share in 2024. The rest of the market is then shared among countless regional processors and specialized recyclers. The structure reflects all characteristics related to high capital investment in glass recycling operations, geographical proximity to the sources of feedstock, and the requisite level of technical expertise in quality processing and contamination control.

At 12.1%, the Global Market is dominated by Sibelco which utilizes its North American processing network and technological ability to once again maintain its position at the top in practical terms. The acquisition by Sibelco with respect to the year 2024 actually created positive synergies, which combined the processing expertise of Strategic Materials with Sibelco's worldwide resources and technical expertise, thus forming a combination of vertical integration with more than 60 glass recycling facilities around the globe, processing a minimum of 10 million tons of cullet each year with an acceptance rate of over 99.5% for totally contamination-free batches.

The company acquired such an advantageous competitive position due to a number of other advantages such as advanced optical sorting technology, high-quality control systems, and strategic positioning close to large metropolitan areas which focus high glass generation rates. Strategic Materials operates over 40 processing facilities in North America, supplying cullet to manufacturers of containers and fiberglass and specialty applications such as highway beads and abrasives. With regard to the recycled glass abrasives, the company has gained market leadership under the brand name TruAbrasives, promoting the material as a safer and more effective alternative to traditional abrasive products.

Recycled Glass Market Companies

Major players operating in the recycled glass industry are: 

• Strategic Materials
• Vetropack Holding
• Owens-Illinois
• Ardagh Group
• Guardian Glass
• Momentum Recycling
• Rivierasca
• Visy Industries
• Orora Limited
• Shark Solutions
• Glass Recycled Surfaces
• Reiling Glas Recycling
• Ripple Glass
  
  
• Sibelco
  • Sibelco is one of the main players in North America, winning the most processing facilities in an area that has indeed surpassed a combined annual capacity of 2 million tons. Acquisition of Strategic Materials by Sibelco in 2024 created a global powerhouse in glass recycling by putting together the processing know-how of Strategic Materials with Sibelco's worldwide reach and technical resources. Now, the integrated operation covers over 60 glass recycling facilities worldwide, processing over 10 million tons of cullet per annum with a quality acceptance rate of 99.5% for contamination-free batches.
    
• Vetropack Holding Ltd
  • Vetropack Holding Ltd. is a leading European glass packaging company integrated with recycling activities to optimize cullet usage across its manufacturing network. The innovative Swiss-based company has been spearheading innovation by pioneering the Echovai returnable bottle technology, which produces containers that are ultimately 1/3 lighter than average reusable bottles while remaining durable and high-performing. This innovation enables achievement of both goals of sustainability and efficiency in returnable packaging systems.
    
• Owens-Illinois Inc
  • Owens-Illinois Inc. One of the giants in the world is such in glass containers, operating significant recycling facilities, thus making up part supplementation of its worldwide manufacturing facility with a total of 69 plants in 19 different countries. By virtue of its being one of the largest users of recycled glass, the company uses cullet for dependable energy cost and carbon emission savings for reaching ambitious targets related to sustainability. However, the agreement of O-I in recycling is further evidenced by the various alliances with collection organizations and investments included into processing infrastructures that will ensure supply of high-quality feed stocks.
    
• Ardagh Group S.A.
  • In conducting glass packaging and recycling provision in North America, Europe, and Africa, the Ardagh Group S.A. has consolidated its market presence. The group has achieved an average of 56% cullet usage within its operations and 38% of their batch composition based on external post-consumer recycled content. Its strategy of recycling involves both supply-side investments in processing infrastructure and demand-side incentive programs to enhance collection rates and feedstock quality.
    
• Momentum Recycling LLC
  • Momentum Recycling LLC is a local processor that focuses mainly on recycling container glass around the western markets in the U.S. It has built processing facilities in strategic locations where there is close proximity to produce local and regional glass manufacturers while maintaining the highest quality standards and customer service levels required. Momentum's strategy focuses on long-term supply relationships with glass manufacturers seeking to increase post-consumer recycled content in their operations and technical support.
    

Recycled Glass Industry News

• In April 2025, Ardagh Glass Packaging entered a long-term strategic partnership with CAP Glass to build an expansive glass recycling service in the U.S. CAP Glass bases its collaboration on being one of the greatest recyclers of glass within the nation, having over thirty years of experience collecting, sorting, and processing operations.
  
• In February 2025, Owens-Illinois Inc. reported the attainment of impressive glass recycling milestones across its U.S. operations, showing ongoing commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices. The company's integrated recycling approach includes strategic alliances with the collection organizations and investment into processing infrastructures for the capturing of high-quality feedstock supply in the latter 69 manufacturing facilities around the globe.
  
• In December 2024, BA Glass, the Portuguese glass recycling company, acquired Recresco Ltd., a UK-based company, to scale up recycling capacity and cut carbon footprint across all European operations. The historical acquisition signifies continuing consolidation in the industry as companies join to realize viable scale and, thus, enhanced coverage to meet increasingly stringent regulation and market demand.
  

The recycled glass market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry, with estimates & forecast in terms of revenue (USD Billion) and volume (Kilo Tons) from 2021 to 2034, for the following segments:

Click here to Buy Section of this Report

Market, By Product Type

• Crushed glass
• Cullets
  • Clear cullets
  • Amber cullets
  • Green cullets
• Glass powder
• Automotive glass components
• Others

Market, By Application

• Glass bottles & containers
• Flat glass
• Fiber glass
• Highway beads
• Abrasives
• Fillers
• Construction materials
• Others

Market, By End Use Industry

• Construction & infrastructure
• Packaging industry
• Automotive industry
• Manufacturing
• Transportation
• Others

The above information is provided for the following regions and countries:

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • UK
  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • Australia
  • Rest of Asia Pacific 
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Argentina
  • Rest of Latin America
• Middle East & Africa
  • UAE
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Rest of Middle East & Africa