Grant funding totalling £1.2 million has been awarded by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) and the Scottish Executive for large-scale operational trials aimed at demonstrating the commercial, technical and operational potential of recycled glass as a raw material.

Building on R&D work commissioned by WRAP into the use of recycled glass in a range of applications, the trials are designed to enable industry to better understand the performance and operational benefits of using recycled glass, with the ultimate aim of a wider market uptake commercially.

Ranging from building products through to water filtration, the scope of the trials is wide, covering:

· grit blasting within the marine sector - Shipbuilders & Shiprepairers Association
· brick and tile fluxing - Akristos Ltd
· water filtration in the food and chemicals processing industry, including reed bed construction - Aqua Enviro Ltd
· artificial sports turf and top dressing for winter games pitches (football) - STRI (Sports Turf Research Institution)
· golf course construction and maintenance - Scottish Golf Consortium including Scottish Golf Environment Group
· mortars, adhesives and cement repair products - Instarmac Ltd
· higher value cement block manufacture - Brand & Rae Ltd

Bronnie Allen, Materials Development Manager (Glass), says: "We are extremely pleased that the trials are covering a number of different applications as this is the beauty of recycled glass - it is very versatile and has huge potential market uptake.

"Using recycled glass has been shown to offer performance, energy saving and cost benefits in a number of different applications. With many industry sectors under pressure to improve their environmental credentials, it could well be just the answer some companies are looking for. It is hoped that the results of these trials will encourage more businesses to investigate the possibility of using recycled glass."