We are FCC - Nº9

Serious recycling FCC Ámbito has been operating in the glass recycling industry for more than 40 years. Besides hand- ling household glass containers, the Company offers its services to multiple industries that generate glass waste such as window manu- factures, bottling plants, automobile scrapping facilities, etc. The Cadrete and Muel facilities, both in Zaragoza, as well as the plant in Sagunto Harbour (Valencia) treat a total of more than 160,000 tonnes of different types of glass each year, the essential prior step before incorporating these materials in production cycles. The excellent performance of the- se facilities was recognised by AE- NOR, as underscored by the fact that they were the first ones in Spain to be certified. The quality mana- gement system implemented makes it possible for the end product, the recycled glass, to be considered not waste but rather recycled glass, complying with the EU Regulation No. 1179/2012 of the Commission enacted on 10 December 2012 which defines the criteria for deter- mining when recycled glass can no longer be classified as waste. Fine glass of optimal quality One of the main materials obtained from recycling is fine glass. It is a product with great ecological and environmental advantages, as it is free of contamination and has a high quality in terms of dimensions, colour, texture, etc. Thanks to its non-porousness, hard- ness and resistance to scratching, it is a material with multiple appli- cations, and other products can be obtained such as worktops, facades and floors, industrial craftsmanship, artistic paints, etc. But in addition to fine glass, in the plants of Cadrete, Muel and Sagun- to, mixed calcine and industrial calcine are obtained. The first is a raw material for the manufacture of new glass containers (bottles, jars...). The industrial one is used to manufacture new glass products (flat glass, tiles for swimming pools, glass wool, spheres for paintings...). The use of calcine allows an energy saving of 1% for every 4% of calcine, which also results in the reduction of CO 2 emissions and other gases du- ring the smelting process. The Cadrete plant in Zaragoza. I N N O V A T I O N 43 I N N O V A T I O N