AGC (AGC Inc., Headquarters: Tokyo; President: Yoshinori Hirai) a world-leading manufacturer of glass, chemicals and other high-tech materials, announced that it will begin a demonstration project in June 2026 to collect and recycle discarded windshields generated during vehicle repair and replacement. The project will be carried out through its consolidated subsidiary Autoglass Co., Ltd. AGC aims to establish a scheme to recover and recycle automotive glass that has traditionally been treated as industrial waste and reuse it as raw material for architectural flat glass, drawing on knowledge gained through resource-circulation initiatives for architectural glass. According to AGC, this is the first systematic initiative in Japan to circulate waste automotive glass as raw material for architectural flat glass. ^*1

■Roles of Participating Companies
Scheme Development and Operation: Autoglass Co., Ltd.
Glass Replacement and Separation of Glass and Components: AG Expert Co., Ltd. Oda Safety Glass Co., Ltd.
Manufacture of Architectural Flat Glass Using Recovered Cullet as a Raw Material: AGC Inc.

Background
In Japan, more than 10,000 tons of waste automotive glass are estimated to be generated each year at car dealerships and glass installers due to accidents, stone-chip damage, and aging. However, an adequate recycling system has not yet been established because of processing costs and collection challenges, and much of this waste is currently disposed of in landfills as industrial waste. Windshields are particularly difficult to recycle because they have a laminated structure in which an interlayer resin is bonded between sheets of glass to improve safety in collisions. As a result, recycling requires a process to separate the glass from the resin.

Project Overview
The demonstration project will verify a new resource-circulation scheme that covers the entire process from collection to recycling of discarded windshields. It will make use of the wholesale, sales, and delivery functions of Autoglass Co., Ltd. for automotive replacement glass, together with its network of automotive glass installers across Japan. Under the scheme, Autoglass Co., Ltd. will build and operate the scheme. AG Expert Co., Ltd. and Oda Safety Glass Co., Ltd. will handle glass replacement and the separation of glass and components. AGC Inc. will use cullet recovered from collected windshields as a raw material in the manufacture of architectural flat glass.

Evaluation and Expected Impact
The project will assess whether cullet^*2 refined from collected discarded windshields can be used as a raw material for AGC’s architectural flat glass. It will be evaluated from the perspectives of quality, supply stability, and practicality. The use of recycled cullet is expected to help reduce CO₂ associated with glass raw materials, as well as energy-related CO₂ generated during raw material procurement and manufacturing. For each ton of waste automotive glass recycled, GHG emissions are expected to be reduced by approximately 0.6 tons on a Scope 1, 2 and 3 basis. AGC also aims to reduce the volume of discarded windshields sent to landfill and help build an effective model for advancing a circular economy.

Next Steps
Looking ahead, AGC will examine the feasibility of establishing a recycling scheme for automotive glass while expanding the target area and strengthening collaboration with partners, including installers, automobile manufacturers, and non-life insurance companies. Through these efforts, AGC seeks to expand the collection and recycling of waste automotive glass in Japan and contribute to the development of resource-circulation infrastructure across the industry.

AGC Group Commitment
Under its medium-term management plan, AGC plus-2026,, the AGC Group has identified three social values. One of them, “Blue planet,” focuses on reducing environmental impact from raw material procurement through customer use. Through this demonstration project, the AGC Group aims to expand the recycling of automotive glass and contribute to a sustainable global environment and a circular society.

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