Sustainable building tries to minimize plastic and concrete and reduce weight. In this approach, the UMB1 base plate replaces a concrete slab and organic thermal insulation like XPS and EPS. UMB1 is an abbreviation of Urban Mining Bodenplatte 1. Like already well known, GLAPOR boards are foamed from 100% recycled glass at 800°C. More explanation is given in this link, which you need to translate from German.
For this innovation, GLAPOR won two prices. The first price was from DNGB, who describes themselves as follows: The German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) was founded in 2007 by 16 initiators from a variety of specialist backgrounds in the construction and property industry who wanted to do more to promote sustainable building in the future. A registered association, the DGNB currently has more than 2500 members throughout the world. Our members represent industry at all stages of the construction and real estate value chain, from architects to planners, property developers, producers of building materials, investors, scientists and the authorities, all of whom provide input to the DGNB with their comprehensive know-how and experience.
But last week, another price was given for the UMB1. This time it was the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ), who organizes the Circularity Champion Award.
In 2009, the CEO of a large multinational predicted in a personal communication that GLAPOR should not survive. And today, this same GLAPOR is winning price after price but more important, is taking the nice cellular glass jobs in Europe and Mexico.
The principle of GLAPOR is rather simple. Use 100% recycled glass but do not melt a special glass and foam a wide ribbon instead of working with moulds to be able to deliver large dimensions. This philosophy has already a long time a name: KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid.
BELGLAS BV 