In the small country of the Netherlands a number of sheet glass manufacturers launched an initiative, back in 2000, to set up a voluntary recycling scheme in order to meet their responsibilities as producers of sheet glass. Three organizations participated in the initiative: the Manufacturers of Double Glazing in the Netherlands (FIGIN), wholesalers and importers of sheet glass, who were collectively represented by the Glass Branch Organization (GBO) and the Dutch Glass Federation (NGF). To that end they conducted an experiment in the northern provinces of the Netherlands. On the basis of the favorable results of that experiment, the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment gave its approval to the system and the method used for financing it. In 2002, the foundation Vlakglas Recycling Nederland, VRN for short, was founded.

This organization now coordinates at country-level all activities associated with recycling and collecting waste glass in an efficient, environmentally friendly manner and at the lowest possible cost. It supports and coordinates the participating companies and agencies; it also oversees the collection of the recycling fee and acts as an information point for all those involved. Furthermore, the foundation promotes awareness of and enthusiasm for recycling glass. The government of the Netherlands has also demonstrated its commitment to this process by legislating for the sheet glass recycling levy on all traded and imported double and triple insulating glazing.

The paper will explain the VRN system, its business model, its 20-years + functioning, its lessons learned and its view on closing the flat glass recycling loop for a decarbonized economy.

- The current situation with flat glass recycling, the limitations for flat glass furnaces, the quality demands from the glass industry, the EPR system VRN as implemented in the Netherlands explained,Recycling cycle lessons learned,Current developments and challenges, and future views on circularity and decarbonisation