Flat glass is inherently a material that can be recycled indefinitely through a melting process. However, the effective reuse of post-consumer flat glass remains insufficient: in Japan, wasted architectural window glass is estimated to over 500,000 tons per year. Moreover, solar panels with an expected service life of 20–30 years are projected to generate several hundred thousand tons of waste by the late 2030s. Cover glass accounts for about 60 percent of a solar panel’s total weight, raising concerns over the environmental impact of landfill disposal.

We have established a horizontal recycling scheme for window glass in collaboration with our partner companies and have successfully recycled used solar panel cover glass into float glass, which is previously considered technically challenging. This not only reduces industrial waste but also cuts the consumption of virgin raw materials and significantly lowers GHG emissions in the flat glass manufacturing process.

As part of our medium-term management plan “AGC plus-2026” and under the banner of our “Blue planet” vision, the AGC Group is committed to reducing environmental impact and promoting resource circulation, thereby accelerating our contribution to a sustainable society.