I read with interest The Times report about the 'stored' glass bottles in Wied Fulija, in which a Wasteserv spokesman was quoted as saying that the bottles are stored prior to export for recycling.

A simple search on waste glass recycling will reveal several papers regarding the successful use of crushed glass as replacement for sand in the production of concrete and plaster. In Malta, the construction industry uses a substantial amount of quarried hard stone in the production of stone chippings and sand for the production of concrete, tarmac, concrete blocks and fine sand for the plastering of walls. I believe that crushed glass would be more beneficial than crushed hard stone since it is denser and will produce less dust.

Stone is a non-renewable resource, while glass bottles are always with us, because of their use in several consumer products such as wine, oil, preserves and other foodstuffs. I do not have the figures but the photo speaks for itself. If this waste could be crushed in the same crushers used in the production of hard stone, we could safely recycle this inert material and use it in the production of blocks, in concrete screeds, tarmac bases and as a sub-base stratum for landfills.

I cannot understand why we cannot start thinking out of the box and turn a liability into something useful.