§1What this business is
Waste glass is sorted by colour, crushed in a jaw or roll crusher, milled in a hammer mill, passed under magnets to pull out caps and metal, screened into sizes and bagged. Cullet goes back to glass furnaces (1 kg of cullet replaces 1.2 kg of raw materials); fine glass sand and powder go to construction, sandblasting, filtration, paint and plastics.
Capacity: Tonnage not printed; capacity use 55% in year 1 rising to 75% in year 5.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone in the scrap or waste trade with steady access to bottles and broken glass.
Who it is not for
Someone without a waste-collection network or a buyer for cullet.
Advantages
- Raw material is waste glass that is cheap to collect
- Glass makers save energy and raw material with cullet
- Several end uses — glass, construction, sandblasting, fillers
- Fits circular-economy and waste rules
Drawbacks
- Collection and sorting is messy and labour-heavy
- Contaminated glass lowers price
- Sharp-glass injury risk
- The report gives no tonnage or price per tonne — check numbers yourself
Skills you need
- Scrap sourcing and sorting
- Running crushers and screens
- Safety with sharp material
- Selling to glass factories and builders
Why difficulty 2/5: Simple machines; supply and buyer tie-ups are the challenge.
§3Market
Who buys
- Glass bottle and container makers
- Fibreglass makers (need 12 mesh or finer)
- Construction (glass sand, concrete, pavements)
- Sandblasting, filtration, paint and plastic filler users
How it sells
- Direct supply to glass factories
- Construction contractors
- Industrial traders
Good to know
- The report says sand from crushed bottles has 76% silica and holds better with bricks and concrete.
- Melting cullet needs much less energy than melting raw materials (report).
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Glass recycling plant (jaw crusher, hammer mill, magnetic sorter, screens, storage bins) | 1 | ₹5,00,000 |
| Packing (bagging) machine | 1 | ₹2,50,000 |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Glass Recycling (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Waste glass (bottles, jars, broken glass)collected, inspected for contamination and sorted by colour
- Colouring agentlisted among major raw materials
- Packing materialbags
From: PMEGP sample project report — Glass Recycling (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
Centre for the Development of Glass Industry (CDGI), Firozabad · Firozabad →Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI), Kolkata · Kolkata →
In our raw material database
Glass bottles and jars →Glass cullet (broken glass for remelting) →
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- NOC from the State Pollution Control Board and fire safety (named in the report)
- Trade licence
- Factory licence (optional, per report)
- BIS certification (named in the report)
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
PMEGP fits; MUDRA and CGTMSE for credit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: plant & machinery ₹7.50 L, other assets ₹1.50 L, working capital ₹4.88 L = ₹13.88 L. Premises rented at ₹20,000 a month.
Working capital: Working capital ₹4.88 L (bank ₹4.39 L).
Year not printed on the report — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
- HS codes are from the WCO HS 2022 list; confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
- Export of waste and scrap can carry extra conditions; check the DGFT export policy for this line.
- You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Irregular waste supply
- Contamination rejections
- Low cullet prices
- Dust and injury hazards
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working glass recycling (cullet and glass powder) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Glass Recycling (Cullet and Glass Powder)?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.