Composite Recycling has announced a strategic collaboration with Owens Corning鈥檚 glass reinforcements business to develop sustainable solutions for composite waste and advance industrial-scale circular economy initiatives. The relationship will focus on incorporating the reclaimed glass fibers from Composite Recycling’s advanced recycling process into Owens Corning’s existing glass reinforcements production lines.
Composites, which are often made up of fibers (such as carbon or glass fibers) and reinforced plastics (such as epoxy or polyester resin), can be challenging to recycle. As a result, they contribute to landfill waste, with annual composite waste amounts for wind turbine and aircraft industries alone projected to hit a combined 840,000 tons by 2050.1聽The collaboration between Composite Recycling and Owens Corning鈥檚 glass reinforcements business creates an opportunity to promote the reuse of composite waste,聽reduce landfill contributions, and provide industries with innovative ways to recycle and reuse materials.
鈥淥ur cutting-edge recycling approach 鈥� using a technology called thermolysis 鈥� transforms how we handle composite waste, enabling us to convert it into valuable secondary raw聽materials for industry,鈥� said Guillaume Perben, co-founder of Composite Recycling. 鈥淭his collaboration is a significant step forward in demonstrating how composite waste can be reintegrated into a variety of products and provides us with the opportunity to scale our technology and make a meaningful impact across industries.鈥�
The collaboration is designed to achieve several key objectives, including:
- Optimizing Material Integration: The parties will jointly develop and refine methodologies to incorporate recycled materials from the Composite Recycling process into Owens Corning鈥檚 production streams聽of reclaimed glass fibers, which are used by industries such as boating, automotive, transportation, airspace, and construction materials, ensuring material performance and quality.
- Scaling Composite Recycling鈥檚 Technologies: Together, the companies will drive the industrialization and scaling of Composite Recycling鈥檚 recycling technology to make the process cost-effective and efficient at scale, addressing the challenges of recycling composite waste in multiple industries.
- Circular Solutions for Composite Waste: Owens Corning鈥檚 glass reinforcements business and Composite Recycling will work together to establish circular economy systems that handle composite waste throughout its lifecycle.
鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to reducing our environmental impact, and this collaboration brings us one step closer to that goal,鈥� said Dr. Chris Skinner, Vice President of Strategic Marketing and R&D for Owens Corning鈥檚 glass reinforcements business. 鈥淏y incorporating glass fiber into composite materials used to produce automotive parts, building materials, and insulation products, we are demonstrating the circularity and benefit of recycling composite materials.鈥�