Windshields recycled across Europe
In the absence of a service provider in Estonia, the AGR (Automotive Glazing Replacement) business, in partnership with the Glassdrive windshield installation network (Mobility BU), has extended the recycling logistics for used automotive glass to Finland. The company is thus pursuing a strategic objective: encouraging the circular economy.
As Europe's leading auto glass replacement specialist, Mobility BU's Sekurit AGR business is constantly on the lookout for more sustainable practices. Wherever it operates, it seeks the most efficient logistics solutions to recover and process as many used products as possible, so that they can be reinjected into new production processes. In Estonia, its Elva plant produced 481 tonnes of glass waste in 2023, while the two Glassdrive repair centers in Tallinn and Tartu produced 70 tonnes, not counting the depots of its other independent customers under Sekurit Partner contract. In the absence of a recycling plant in the country, this waste was transported to Finland, where it was entrusted to a automotive glass recycling company, able to achieve the delicate separation of glass and polymer layers. After grinding, the former can be reintroduced into the manufacture of glass wool, while the latter is burned to produce energy.
Extending collection
Used glass from Sekurit AGR in Estonia ends up at the Isover plant in Hyvinkää, Finland, where it saves virgin raw materials and reduces CO2 emissions. At the same time, the operation meets another Saint-Gobain Group objective: to secure the supply of its glass production chain, from the extraction of sand to its secondary recovery at the end of the product life cycle. To increase the economic and environmental benefits of this new logistics system, Sekurit AGR in Estonia has set itself a new challenge: to extend its collection network to more repairers and fitters, and as far as neighboring Latvia.
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