Economy in the glass industry: From vision to action
The global glass industry is at a pivotal juncture, grappling with the imperative of sustainability while navigating economic complexities. Two key figures, Rajesh Khosla, the CEO of AGI Greenpac, and Adrian Curry, the chair of Glass Futures, shed light on the challenges and opportunities in transitioning towards a more circular glass economy
06 Nov 2025 | 354 Views | By Prabhat Prakash & Treya Sinha
Rajesh Khosla, the CEO of AGI Greenpac, elaborated on the unique landscape of India for implementing circular economy principles in the glass industry. With container glass recycling rates currently hovering around 30%, significant systemic barriers persist. Khosla identified fragmented collection and recycling infrastructure, particularly beyond tier-1 cities, as a major hurdle. The co-mingling of glass with other waste streams leads to contamination and reduced recyclability, further compounded by a lack of structured collection incentives and limited consumer awareness. The inconsistent implementation of policy frameworks like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) across the globe also adds to the complexity of the changes.
However, Khosla emphasised that India's rapid economic development, increasing urbanisation, and a growing focus on sustainability present a timely opportunity for transformation. As a leading glass packaging manufacturer, AGI Greenpac is strategically positioned to drive this change. The company actively collaborates with stakeholders across the value chain, including recyclers, aggregators, and consumers, to create decentralised, regionally tailored recovery models.
These initiatives aim to counter reliance on informal waste collection systems by promoting cleaner recycling streams, integrating cullet (recycled glass) back into production, and investing in scalable infrastructure. Khosla expressed confidence that with growing public awareness, policy momentum, and industry collaboration, AGI Greenpac can build a resilient, circular ecosystem for glass in India, transforming waste into a valuable resource and supporting long-term sustainability.
Technological innovation and beyond
Innovation is central to AGI Greenpac's sustainability roadmap, with a strong focus on enhancing recyclability and maximising cullet integration. Khosla detailed the company's investment in advanced optical sorting technologies for precise segregation of contaminants like ceramics, metals, and coloured glass variants. These systems, combined with high-efficiency crushing, washing, and drying units, produce high-purity cullet that seamlessly integrates into their furnaces.
AGI Greenpac's facilities are also equipped with automated cullet feed systems, balancing quality control with operational efficiency. Internally, closed-loop recycling ensures that production waste is reprocessed and reintroduced into the manufacturing cycle. Khosla affirmed the company's commitment to increasing cullet usage, supported by strategic investments in infrastructure, supplier partnerships, and robust R&D. He underscored the environmental and manufacturing benefits: every tonne of cullet used means fewer virgin raw materials mined, lower energy consumption, and a significant reduction in carbon emissions.
Beyond recycling, AGI Greenpac views circularity as a redefinition of packaging. The focus on longevity includes designing easy-to-clean wide mouths and durable structures. The company is also developing digital tracking systems with partners like Glass Futures to make reuse intuitive for consumers. The evolving business model supports these efforts through shared infrastructure and collection networks. Khosla articulated the company's philosophy: "glass shouldn't be single-use—it should drive a regenerative packaging system that safeguards products, conserves resources, and engages consumers in sustainability."
AGI Greenpac's product innovation team is dedicated to designing for end-of-life recyclability, focusing on lightweight and easily collectible and processable structures. The organisation is actively implementing lightweighting initiatives to reduce material use without sacrificing performance. Operationally, the plants embrace closed-loop manufacturing, repurposing in-house glass scrap and maintaining zero liquid discharge in process water systems.
Measuring progress and overcoming challenges
AGI Greenpac measures its progress towards circularity through a comprehensive set of metrics, including the percentage of cullet used in production, total volume of glass waste recovered, carbon emissions per tonne of output, energy consumption, and the percentage of raw materials sourced sustainably. Khosla reported that over 35% of the raw materials are sourced from sustainable suppliers as of this year. Significant progress has also been made in reducing the carbon footprint, implementing closed-loop recycling systems, and adopting energy-efficient equipment across plants.
Despite these achievements, challenges remain, particularly in scaling collection infrastructure and building consumer participation in reuse programmes. Logistics for heavier materials like glass, fragmentation of local recovery systems, and variable policy enforcement pose hurdles. Nevertheless, Khosla affirmed the brand's commitment to meeting and exceeding circularity goals through ongoing investment, cross-sector partnerships, and continuous innovation.
Glass Futures: Global leadership in innovation
Adrian Curry, the chair of Glass Futures, outlined his main priorities in his new role, emphasising the organisation's evolution from a fledgling concept to a global R&D centre with an operational experimental 30-tonnes per day (tpd) furnace. His focus is on ensuring the organisation's effectiveness today and in the future, providing leadership that supports the global industry for decades to come. Strategy is another key responsibility, encompassing short, medium, and long-term plans to assist Glass Futures and its members in achieving a prosperous future. Curry's long-term perspective on the glass business underpins his approach.
The diverse representation on the Glass Futures Board of Directors, including members from different glass sectors and academia, is deemed crucial. Curry highlighted the importance of having expertise from various sectors, such as medical devices, defense, and renewable energy, to ensure Glass Futures represents every segment of the industry. The inclusion of scientists and academics is vital for evaluating potential breakthroughs in wider sectors where glass applications might not yet be considered. He cited the example of glass hip replacements, questioning whether the body would grow tissue and muscle around glass faster than metal, demonstrating a commitment to "thinking outside the box" for new applications.
Vision for the future
Curry's vision for Glass Futures spans short, medium, and long terms. In the short term, the live R&D furnace is a major achievement, with a healthy pipeline of projects to trial. He expressed excitement about the "truly incredible" opportunities being explored. For the medium and long term, the Board is evaluating Glass Futures' role in five years, envisioning an expanded global driver for R&D and innovation, and a source of expertise in areas like advanced manufacturing, digitalisation and AI. Given the major disruptions since the pandemic, Curry believes Glass Futures will play a critical role in evaluating the future of glass to optimise complex supply chains, even extending beyond glass if beneficial for members.