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Archives : environmental impacts of windshield repair
400 Doing Our Part to Lower Carbon Footprint
Ecofriendly and environmentally conscious statements might seem overused today, but their actions continue to be important. Take the example of windshield recycling, which is enormously difficult because of the following:
- Glass takes more than 1 million years to decompose in our landfills. And about 15 million windshields wind up there each year in the U.S. alone.
- T 400 he use of plastic laminates makes windshield recycling even worse. Individual layers have to be separated before they can be recycled and some elements, such as heating and radio antennas, can’t be placed in glass furnaces for remolding.
Wasted energy and the release of greenhouse gasses into the air when a new windshield is produced are other considerations. The production of one windshield is equal to the energy necessary for conducting 10,000 repairs. Also during the manufacturing process, emissions of combustion by-products (sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides) and high-temperature oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen are released into the air causing additional harm to the environment.
All of the above is why GlasWeld continues to do their part promoting ways to lower carbon footprint. Do yours, by promoting windshield repair instead 400 of replacement whenever possible. GlasWeld certified windshield repair technicians have been trained and certified on the best practices in windshield repair. Learn how you can become a certified windshield repair technician or find a technician to repair your windshield today.
Sources:
The Boston Globe
Earth911.com
Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines for Glass Manufacturing, World Bank Group
British Glass, Glass Manufacture: A Mass Balance Study
California Department of Conservation
Sadechaf Technology
Why choose windshield repair over replacement? There are many compelling reasons.
Chips happen and they can be easily repaired at a minimal 400 cost and with a decent profit margin that can add to your bottom line.
We have all experienced it. You’re driving down the road and all of a sudden a rock hits the windshield creating a chip in the glass. What most people don’t know is that the majority of these fractures can be repaired, if caught in time, keeping repair costs to a minimum and keeping glass out of our landfills. In addition, many insurance companies waive comprehensive deductible charges when the customer decides to repair the windshield instead of replacing it. Both parties win by spending less money on a repair.
Windshield repair is a permanent solution to an age-old problem. Chips happen and they can be easily repaired at a minimal c 400 ost and with a decent profit margin that can add to your bottom line. And in today’s tough economic environment, windshield repair is being recognized by many different industries, such as detailers, carwashes, lube shops, and auto dealerships as a way to positively impact their businesses with an additional service offering. Windshield repair is a great first choice over replacement for a variety of reasons.
Windshield repair:
- Saves money: Repair is a fraction of the cost of replacement.
- Saves time: Repair is fast, usually 15-20 minutes, whereas replacement can take hours.
- Saves glass: Repair keeps the damage fr
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om spreading and provides a great looking result.
Windshield repair saves time, money and the environment.
- Saves the environment: Most people don’t know that laminated windshield glass is not recycled. When they choose repair first, it keeps their glass out of the landfill.
- Retains the original factory bond: Repair brings the windshield back to factory specifications and retains the original factory bond (if it has not been previously replaced), which means safety will not be compromised for drivers and their passengers. An impro 400 perly replaced windshield may create a safety risk whereby air bags could blow out a windshield and therefore not provide the intended safety.
A successful windshield repair will arrest the cracking of the glass. With the average replacement cost hovering around $350, your customer is usually happy to live with a barely noticeable repair, while paying a small fraction of replacement cost. And they may not pay anything out of pocket when utilizing their insurance coverage.
Windshield repair is not only a cost effective option for your customers, but also the environmentally sound option. By decreasing the amount of glass that goes into landfills, and reducing the need for new glass manufacturing and transportation we can all make a positive environmental impact.
Did you know:
- In the United States, 15 million windshields – the equivalent of about 600 million pounds of material – are replaced each year with most winding up in landfills. –
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The Boston Globe, 2010
Glass takes more than one million years to decompose in our landfills, making windshield repair the best option whenever possible.
- The amount of energy needed to produce one windshield is equal to 10,000 repairs. – Sadechaf Technology, 2007
- By recycling vehicle windshields, the amount of automotive waste in landfills could be reduced by 3 percent; however, due to plastic laminates, windshields are one of the most difficult auto parts to 400 recycle. – Earth911.com, 2011
- Glass takes more than 1 million years to decompose in our landfills. – California Department of Conservation
- Windshield glass is difficult to recycle because much of the glass is 2-ply laminated and contains a PVB layer that must be separated. Integrated heating elements or radio antenna are often embedded within the windshields and cannot be returned to the glass furnace for reworking. – British Glass, Glass Manufacture: A Mass Balan 400 ce Study, 2005
- The transportation of glass, which is a relatively heavy product, throughout the supply chain results in high levels of transport-related CO2 emissions. – Advances in Glasses and Glass-Ceramics, Frost & Sullivan, 2006
- Glass manufacturing is a high-temperature, energy-intensive activity, resulting in the emission of combustion by-products (sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides) and the high-temperature oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen. – Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines for Glass Manufacturing, World Bank Group, 2007
- It takes 15.2 million BTUs of energy to produce one ton of glass. The manufacturing of one ton of glass 376 can generate as much as 385 pounds of mining waste and 28 pounds of air pollutants. Like the production of other materials, glass manufacturing and usage has negative impacts on the environment. – The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation
The more that we all participate in reducing the use of raw materials and the energy needed to produce glass, the better off our environment will be, making glass repair the best option.
Windshield repair has been around for more than three decades and continues to grow and develop into a viable and profitable service. If you do your research, choose the right equipment and participate in comprehensive training, windshield repair can become a lasting addition to your revenue stream and your profits.
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