Conference Agenda

Despite growing circular economy mandates across Europe, flat glass from the construction and demolition (C&D) sector remains one of the most underrecycled building materials (Glass for Europe, 2021). This paper investigates the systemic barriers that prevent effective reverse logistics for flat glass, drawing on a review of academic and grey literature to synthesise the current state of knowledge and identify priority areas for policy and industry intervention.

The study identifies four systemic failure points that collectively impede closed-loop supply chains for flat glass. First, collection and acquisition processes remain fragmented: flat glass is frequently co-mingled with mixed demolition waste, sharply reducing purity and recovery rates. Second, sorting and inspection infrastructure is underdeveloped Barriers are classified across technical, economic, organisational, and behavioural dimensions (Dekker et al., 2004). surface coatings, lamination layers, and contaminants make quality assessment technically demanding and economically marginal. Third, stakeholder coordination is structurally weak glazing contractors, waste handlers, recyclers, and float glass manufacturers operate in disconnected value chain segments with misaligned economic incentives. Fourth, behavioral barriers including low recycling intention among site contractors and limited awareness of available collection schemes produce an intention-action gap that persists even where physical infrastructure exists. These findings are interpreted through the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) framework (Guide & Van Wassenhove, 2009), the operational taxonomy of reverse logistics (Dekker et al., 2004), and nudge theory applied to recycling behaviour (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008; Miafodzyeva & Brandt, 2013).

This paper offers the first structured, multi-dimensional barrier synthesis specific to flat glass in the construction sector. Prior research has addressed glass recycling in broader contexts container glass and post-consumer cullet but has not systematically mapped reverse logistics constraints for architectural flat glass. The four failure point framework provides a structured diagnostic lens that can guide extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy design, reverse logistics network configuration, and targeted stakeholder engagement strategies.

The findings call for mandatory material separation requirements in demolition contracts, subsidised collection and sorting infrastructure for glazing waste, and nudge-based communication campaigns targeting contractors and site managers. Policymakers are encouraged to extend existing EPR frameworks currently focused on container glass to cover flat glass from the built environment.