Glassman Europe in Lyon this September aims to help manufacturers debate how the glass industry can increase the reduced reliance on single-use plastic.

Glass is unique in its ability to be 100% recyclable. As the war on plastic wages on, Glassman Europe will address how the glass industry can innovate and overcome barriers to switching to container glass as an alternative to the thousands of tons of plastic created every day.

The Glassman Europe international exhibition and conference will take place in Lyon on 17th and 18th September 2019, highlighting the latest industry technical developments to increase efficiency and improve environmentally friendly glass production.

The event will bring together container glass manufacturers, suppliers and producers of the industry from across Europe and beyond. High on the agenda will be discussing ways in which the glass industry can adapt to make glass a more viable option over plastics in the future.

“For the 2019 event there will be a strong emphasis on the durability of glass products, with particular reference to the pollution in our oceans and the wider planet caused by plastic materials.

"One of the key advantages of container glass is its ability to form part of a circular economy, but how can we encourage more food and drinks manufacturers to use glass as a more sustainable packaging solution?” explains Greg Morris, Editor-in-Chief of Glass International magazine and Conference Producer at Glassman Events.

According to latest figures from FEVE (the European Container Glass Association), secondary recycling throughout Europe has now reached 74%.

Currently some 12 million tonnes of cullet are recycled in a closed-loop format, making the glass industry a perfect example of the Circular Economy.

Since 1995, when the figure was only 40% there has been continuous improvement. In France 2.7 million tonnes of glass are consumed each year and some 30 kilos of container glass per head are being recycled annually.

The glass industry has also made great progress in respect of its environmental impact: for example, in the use of filters to reduce polluting discharges, the development of more efficient furnaces, and the recovery and recycling of raw materials.

The event is free to attend and includes the international exhibition, the technical glass conference and the Future Glass Forum which focuses on the digital revolution on the manufacturing industry.

The forum will look at the future for glass production – an ancient art now being transformed by digitalization, automation and big data – with case studies on how the industry is heading towards 4.0.

Those interested in finding out more can register online at https://glassmanevents.com/europe/