Composite Recycling and Owens Corning Partner to Advance Circular Economy for Composite Waste
BY Composights
Published: 17 Jun 2025
Composite Recycling has entered a strategic collaboration with Owens Corning’s glass reinforcements business to accelerate sustainable solutions for composite waste and support industrial-scale circular economy initiatives. The partnership focuses on integrating reclaimed glass fibers, recovered through Composite Recycling’s advanced thermolysis process, into Owens Corning’s existing production lines for glass reinforcements.
Composites — typically made from fiber reinforcements like glass or carbon and polymer resins — are widely used across transportation, wind energy, and aerospace sectors. However, these materials pose significant recycling challenges, with combined composite waste from the wind turbine and aviation industries alone projected to reach 840,000 tons annually by 2050.
By working together, Composite Recycling and Owens Corning aim to demonstrate viable, large-scale recycling pathways for end-of-life composites and establish robust material circularity models that benefit manufacturers and the environment alike.
A Breakthrough in Composite Recycling
“Our cutting-edge recycling approach — using a technology called thermolysis — transforms how we handle composite waste, enabling us to convert it into valuable secondary raw materials for industry,” said Guillaume Perben, Co-founder of Composite Recycling. “This collaboration is a remarkable step in showcasing how composite waste can be reintegrated into a variety of products and provides us with the opportunity to scale our technology and make a meaningful impact across industries.”
Key Goals of the Collaboration:
Optimized Material Integration: The partners will co-develop methodologies to incorporate recycled glass fibers into Owens Corning’s product lines — including materials for automotive, marine, aerospace, construction, and insulation applications — without compromising on performance or quality.
Technology Industrialization of Composite Recycling’s processes, making them cost-effective and suitable for wide adoption.
Circular Economy Systems capable of managing composite waste from production to end-of-life, enabling a closed-loop approach for multiple sectors.
Driving Sustainable Manufacturing Forward
“We’re committed to reducing the environmental impact, and this alliance brings us a step closer to that goal,” said Dr. Chris Skinner, Vice President of Strategic Marketing and R&D at Owens Corning’s glass reinforcements business. “By incorporating glass fiber into composite materials used to produce automotive parts, building materials, and insulation products, we are demonstrating the circularity and benefit of recycling composite materials.”
Customers of Owens Corning’s glass reinforcements will gain access to sustainable products containing reclaimed fibers, allowing them to meet growing regulatory and consumer expectations around recycled content.
“The shift toward recycled content is no longer a trend — it’s a necessity,” added Dr. Skinner. “As the pressure from consumers and regulators is getting stronger, this cooperation allows us to equip our customers with the necessary solutions to meet these challenges. We are the driving force behind the future of manufacturing.”
Looking Ahead
Technical trials are already underway to assess the commercial feasibility of integrating recycled glass fiber into Owens Corning’s operations. Alongside this, they are carrying out their joint efforts to come up with a long-term agreement in the course of the next 12 months. The companies are also considering the possibility of going further with recycled composite materials to cover the entire product portfolio of Owens Corning. This initiative is set to redefine how composite waste is managed and reused, marking a significant advancement toward a more circular, sustainable industrial future.
Source: composite-recycling.ch
