Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Japan: Panasonic Corp has announced that it will begin to mass-produce heat insulation materials by recycling glass used in cathode-ray tube television sets.

To this end, Panasonic has built within the premises of its 'white goods' plant in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, a facility to melt glass tubes used in the TV sets and turn them into fiberglass insulation. Production is slated to begin in February 2012, the company said.

Panasonic estimates heat insulation for about 300,000 refrigerators can be produced from some 130,000 glass tubes. Besides refrigerators and other home appliances, the insulating material can be used for houses and cold containers, company officials said.

Panasonic has been selling part of glass retrieved from cathode-ray tube television sets at its recycle plant to glass-makers in and outside Japan. But the company decided to recycle the glass on its own because its inventory had piled up.