Patent Abstract:
An apparatus for processing glass objects is disclosed that comprises a chute assembly with a first opening at one end thereof for receiving glass objects and a second opening at a distal end thereof for dispensing glass cullet, a rotatable chisel assembly located substantially transversely within the chute assembly for breaking glass objects travelling through the chute assembly, drive means for causing the chisel assembly to rotate, and a controller for controlling the drive means. A method is disclosed for processing glass objects that comprises the steps of performing beneficiation to identify foreign matter amongst glass objects, breaking the glass objects to produce cullet, and identifying a portion of the cutlet that is free of the foreign matter.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to the processing of waste glass and more particularly to the beneficiation of waste glass.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Glass containers have traditionally been made from sand (to provide silica), soda ash (to reduce the melting point) and limestone (to increase hardness) as raw materials. More recently, however, cullet or broken glass has become a raw material for manufacturing of glass containers. Other ingredients are also used in small amounts, depending on the type of glass to be manufactured.  
         [0003]     Bottles and jars collected in recycling schemes are manually sorted into clear, amber and green glass. This typically occurs at a beneficiation plant, where the quality of the waste glass is improved before processing. Contaminants such as metals, plastics, china, ceramics and stones are removed, and the glass is broken into cullet. The cullet is transported to glassmaking factories where it is combined with other batch materials in a furnace to manufacture new glass containers. The use of cullet, as opposed to virgin materials, has real environmental and economic benefits in terms of saving both natural resources and energy.  
         [0004]     Small amounts of contamination can result in the rejection of tons of recycled glass. For example, ceramic material such as a piece of crockery may be sufficient to cause a ton of cullet to be returned to the recycling process or to be consigned to landfill.  
         [0005]     The volume occupied by waste glass awaiting disposal is also a significant problem, particularly in the hospitality industry. Hotels, restaurants, pubs, public events and hospitals, to name but a few examples, accumulate a substantial volume of waste glass that requires storage space and handling. Waste glass needs to be collected frequently and sometimes at not insignificant expense.  
         [0006]     The economic feasibility of waste glass collection and beneficiation in the hospitality industry is particularly poor due to factors such as contamination and the cost of labour and transport. This results in a low percentage of waste glass being recycled.  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a flow diagram of a method for the manufacture and subsequent processing of glass containers after use. Virgin material for producing glass containers is sourced at step  110  and transported to a glass container manufacturing plant at step  115 . The material is processed at step  120  and glass containers are manufactured at step  125 . The glass containers are filled (e.g, at a brewery or winery) and transported to customers at step  130  and are used at step  135 . An example of such use comprises the consumption of beverages in, say, a hotel pub.  
         [0008]     The empty or waste glass containers are collected at step  140 , usually from the point of use, and transported to a central location for local processing at step  145 . Local processing or beneficiation typically comprises manual sorting of the glass containers into the 3 main colour groups (i.e., clear, amber and green) and removal of foreign contaminating material such as ceramics and metals. The manual processing results in a significant portion of the waste glass and foreign material (typically 40% of all waste glass) being used as landfill at step  165 . The remaining portion of waste glass is transported to a plant for final beneficiation at step  150 . Final beneficiation is performed at step  155 , which may involve further colour sorting, removal of foreign material, prior to breaking of the sorted glass containers. Final beneficiation is typically performed automatically (e.g., by a Binder colour sorting machine and a metal detector), as opposed to manually by human beings, and results in a further portion of the waste glass (typically 10%) being used as landfill at step  165 . Yet a further portion of the waste glass (typically 10%) is used in alternative applications at step  160 . The remaining portion of the waste glass (typically 30%) is used as raw material for new glass container manufacture at step  125 .  
         [0009]     Current practices for processing and recycling glass containers thus involve a significant amount of handling and transportation of glass bottles to central processing depots or plants, during which some of the bottles are broken. Disadvantageously, detection of contamination and colour sorting of the glass is significantly more complex for glass cutlet than for whole bottles. Accordingly, only a relatively small portion of the waste glass can be used in the manufacture of new glass containers. A need thus exists for a method and apparatus for processing glass in a more efficient and/or cost effective manner.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0010]     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing glass objects, The apparatus comprises a chute assembly with a first opening at one end thereof for receiving glass objects and a second opening at a distal end thereof for dispensing glass cullet, a rotatable chisel assembly located substantially transversely within the chute assembly for breaking glass objects travelling through the chute assembly, drive means for causing the chisel assembly to rotate, and a controller for controlling the drive means.  
         [0011]     The chisel assembly may further comprise at least one protruding portion that extends substantially longitudinally within the chute assembly from the chisel assembly towards the fist opening. The chisel assembly may further comprise a central portion mounted on a shaft disposed substantially longitudinally within the chute assembly to which the blade portions and at least one protruding portion are mounted. The protruding portion may be mounted substantially midway between the blade portions.  
         [0012]     The apparatus may further comprise an optical detector for detecting objects inserted into the first opening. The controller in conjunction with the optical detector may be adapted to count the number of objects inserted into the first opening. The controller in conjunction with the optical detector may also be adapted to detect and count the number of glass objects of a particular glass colour inserted into the first opening.  
         [0013]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automated method for processing glass objects. The method comprises the steps of performing beneficiation to identify foreign matter amongst the glass objects, breaking the glass objects to produce cullet, and identifying a portion of the cullet that is free of the foreign matter.  
         [0014]     According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing glass objects that comprises means for performing beneficiation to identify foreign matter amongst the glass objects and means for crushing the glass objects to produce cullet. The means for performing beneficiation may comprise an optical detector. The apparatus may further comprise means for identifying glass objects of a particular glass colour. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     Embodiments are described hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a flow diagram of a method for the manufacture and subsequent processing of glass containers after use;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of a method for processing of glass containers after use;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an apparatus for on-site processing of glass containers;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a motor assembly for the apparatus of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a chisel assembly for the apparatus of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of electrical circuits for controlling the apparatus  300  of  FIG. 3 ; and  
         [0022]      FIGS. 7 and 8  are flow charts of operation of the apparatus of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0023]     Embodiments of a method and an apparatus for processing glass are described hereinafter. Although the embodiments described are specifically described with reference to processing of glass bottles, it is not intended that the present invention be so limited as the principles described herein may be applicable to other kinds of glass objects and containers such as glasses, jars, vases, and fluorescent tubes.  
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of a method for processing glass containers after use.  
         [0025]     At step  210 , glass containers are processed at the location or on-site where the containers were used (e.g., at a hotel, pub, hospital, etc.). An apparatus positioned either temporarily or permanently on-site may perform the processing. Alternatively, the processing may be performed on-site by a transportable apparatus mounted on a vehicle such as a truck for operation at various sites. Processing comprises pre-beneficiation to identify items that are made from or include foreign materials (i.e., ceramics and metals) and breaking of the glass containers into cullet. Items and/or portions of the cullet containing foreign materials may thus be discarded (e.g., for use as landfill, etc.). The cullet is transported to a central processing plant at step  215  to undergo final beneficiation at step  220 . Final beneficiation involves colour sorting of the cullet (e.g., into the 3 main colour groups of clear, amber and green) and removal of portions of the cullet that are contaminated by foreign materials, which results in a portion of the cullet (typically 10%) used as landfill at step  230 , a further portion of the cutlet being used in alternative applications (typically 10%) at step  240 , and the remaining amount of cutlet (typically 80%) being used as raw material for the manufacture of new glass containers at step  235 . The steps of the method shown in  FIG. 2  can replace steps  140  to  165  of  FIG. 1  (indicated by the box  170  formed by broken lines in  FIG. 1 ). In this case, step  235  of  FIG. 2  corresponds to step  135  of  FIG. 1 . The method of  FIG. 2  advantageously enables a greater portion of the waste glass to be used as raw material for further glass container manufacture and reduces the amount of waste glass transportation required. More specifically, it is not required to transport whole waste glass containers.  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of an apparatus  300  for on-site processing of glass containers. On-site processing means that the apparatus  300  is deployed for pre-beneficiation and breaking of glass containers at a location where the glass containers are used and disposed of.  
         [0027]     Glass containers may be inserted into the apparatus  300  via an opening  306  in a lid  304  of an upper chute portion defined by sides  314 ,  316 ,  318  and other sides not shown. The shape and size of the opening  306  and the lid  304  may be designed to accept typical sized glass bottles such as wine bottles but to make insertion of other objects such as ceramic cups and saucers more difficult or impossible. The lid  304  is hingedly attached to a side of the upper chute portion by means of a hinge  302 . Hinged flaps are mounted on the underside of the lid  304  for obstruction of the opening  306 . The flaps may be locked in a closed position by a solenoid to prevent insertion of objects into the upper chute portion when the apparatus  300  is not ready to be operated. If not locked by the solenoid, the flaps open downwards from a centre line of the opening  306  in response to insertion of an object into the opening  306 . Thereafter, the flaps return to the closed position by means of a counter-weight biasing mechanism. As would be known by persons skilled in the art, other mechanisms, such as a spring-loaded mechanism, can also be practiced for the same purpose. The upper chute portion is mounted on a base plate  312 , which has an aperture (not shown) through which the glass containers can pass. The base plate  312  is of substantially the same cross-section as, and acts as a top plate for, a lower chute portion defined by sides  320 ,  322 ,  324  and other sides not shown. A control panel  326  for operating the apparatus  300  is mounted on the side panel  322  of the lower chute to portion. A dome vent  308  is mounted in an aperture in the base plate  312  by means of a vent flange, typically made of foam rubber  310 . The dome vent is typically made from plastic or stainless steel (other materials are also possible) and provides airflow and consequent cooling for a motor assembly located in the lower chute portion. The lower chute portion is of larger cross-section than the upper chute portion. The lower chute portion is mounted on a base plate  332  that also acts as a lid  332  of a base cabinet comprising a base plate  336 , a right-side panel  334 , a left-side panel (not shown), a rear panel (not shown), and left and right door panels  342  that are attached to the left-side panel (not shown) and the right-side panel  334 , respectively, by means of hinges  344 . The base plate  332  has an aperture (not shown) through which glass cullet can pass into the base cabinet of the apparatus  300 . A bin (not shown) can be located within the base cabinet of the apparatus  300  for collection of glass cullet falling through the aperture in the base plate  332 . The dimensions of the base cabinet allows insertion of a modified version of an 80-litre plastic refuse “wheelie bin” for collection of the glass cullet. The modification involves cutting the bin transversely into top and bottom portions, removing a portion of the sidewalls from at least one of the top and bottom portions, and rejoining the top and bottom portions to produce a bin of reduced height and volume. The modification reduces the volume of the bin to 60 litres with a consequent reduction in the mass of cullet the bin can hold, thus making manipulation of a full bin easier. An attachable/detachable handle extension provides a handle at approximately the usual handle height of a standard unmodified bin, which also contributes to easier manipulation of a full bin. A higher than usual handle height may be used, which advantageously assists taller users in manipulating the bin. The handle extension is required to be detached when inserting the bin into the base cabinet of the apparatus  300 .  
         [0028]     Although the lid  304  and upper and lower chute portions are of hexagonal shape and cross-section, respectively, persons skilled in the art would understand that other shapes and cross-sections may be practiced.  
         [0029]     The apparatus  300  is generally internally insulated, and particularly the lower chute portion containing the motor assembly, which reduces the noise level generated to less than 60 dB.  
         [0030]      FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of a motor assembly  400  that can be mounted within the lower chute portion of the apparatus shown in  FIG. 3 . A motor  408  is mounted on a motor base plate  402 . The motor base plate  402  is mounted on the base plate  332  by means of rubber mounts  410 . The motor  408  drives a rotatable chisel assembly  500  (shown in  FIG. 5  but not in  FIG. 4 ) by means of pulley wheels, a pulley and a shaft (not shown), which are located under the motor base plate  402 . The shaft connection on the driven side comprises a dog clutch, bore and key and grab screws (not shown). However, other drive train means and/or means of connection may be practiced, as would be understood by persons skilled in the art. The chisel assembly  500  is mounted within a lower portion  404  and an upper portion  406  of a chisel chamber, The lower and upper portions  404  and  406  of the chisel chamber are of circular cross section, though not necessarily, and abut the motor base plate  402  from either side. An aperture (not shown) in the motor base plate  402  is provided for mounting of the chisel assembly  500 . Glass containers enter the chisel chamber via a feed pipe  414 , which is located within the upper chute portion and is connected at a top end thereof to a feed pipe spacer  416  and at the bottom end thereof to the upper portion  406  of the chisel chamber. The glass containers are broken by the rotating chisel assembly  500  and the resulting cullet falls through the lower portion  404  of the chisel chamber and an aperture in the rectangular base plate  332  into the base cabinet of the apparatus  300 . A rubber shield with a narrow aperture therein may be transversely mounted proximate to the top of the feed pipe  414  to prevent or at least ameliorate cullet and other material flying back up the feed pipe  414  during processing. The rubber shield also contributes to reduction of the operating noise level of the apparatus  300 . In certain embodiments, an iris is used in place of the rubber shield. An iris comprises a flat member of resilient flexible material with a number of slits extending radially from the centre towards the outer perimeter of the iris, to provide resilient flaps that have to be forced open upon insertion of an object. The iris is transversely mounted within and proximate to the top of the feed pipe  414 . In an optional further arrangement, a second iris is transversely mounted substantially parallel to and approximately 1 cm above the first iris. A stainless steel drip tray may be provided that surrounds the opening of the feed pipe  414 . The second iris may be disposed over the top of the feed pipe  414  in the stainless steel drip tray. The irises, individually and in combination, advantageously reduce noise, prevent or reduce liquid spills in the stainless steel drip tray from entering the apparatus  300 , and substantially prevent unintentional insertion of objects into the apparatus  300  by an operator. Even insertion of broken glass bottles is made more difficult. The irises are produced from Promeg (a resilient plastic material) of 0.6 mm thickness. In one particular embodiment, a circular iris has 10 flaps resulting from diametrically slitting the iris at 36° intervals.  
         [0031]      FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of a chisel assembly  500  that can be used with the apparatus of  FIG. 3 . The chisel assembly  500  comprises chisel blades  504  mounted circumferentially on an annular collar  502 . A circular plate  512  is mounted within the annular collar  502 . A bolt  508 , which serves as a shaft disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the feed pipe  414  and/or the upper and lower chute portions (shown in  FIG. 4 ), passes through an aperture in the centre of the circular plate  512  for purposes of driving the chisel assembly  500  via a pulley system (not shown) by the motor  408  (shown in  FIG. 4 ). The shaft or bolt  508  is supported substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the feed pipe  414  and/or the upper and lower chute portions (shown in  FIG. 4 ) by means of bearings (not shown) mounted to the upper and lower chute portions. Other forms of shaft, drive system, and shaft support means may be practiced, as would be known to persons skilled in the art.  
         [0032]     Steel rods  505  of circular cross-sectional area are located along the glass-breaking leading edges of the chisel blades  504  to provide additional strength and reduce wear of the chisel blades  504 . Sweeper portions  506 , for clearing an accumulation of glass cullet directly under the chisel assembly  500 , are mounted on the underside and proximate to the trailing edges of each of the chisel blades  504 , The sweeper portions  506  extend substantially perpendicularly to the major surfaces of the chisel blades  504 .  
         [0033]     A protruding portion  510  is mounted on the rim of the annular collar  502 , substantially perpendicularly to the major surfaces of the circular plate  512  and extending in a direction from which glass containers will arrive for breaking. The protruding portion  510  is preferably mounted proximate to the outer circumferential edge of the rim of the annular collar  502  and substantially midway between the chisel blades  504 . The protruding portion  510  assists breakage of glass containers, prevents or at least ameliorates blockages in the apparatus  300 , and achieves a more consistent cullet size and shape than operation without the protruding portion  510 . The protruding portion  510  is shown in  FIG. 5  as a quadrangular section, however, other shapes may be practiced such as a triangular section. The embodiment of the chisel assembly  500  described hereinbefore comprises a single protruding section  510 , however, more than one protruding sections can be practiced.  
         [0034]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of an electrical circuit for controlling the apparatus  300  of  FIG. 3 . A controller  605 , including a control panel  326  mounted externally to the apparatus  300 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , provides “START”, “STOP”, and “FORCE ON” functionality for controlling the apparatus  300 , Specifically, the control panel  326  includes switches for user actuation of the foregoing functions, a green “STATUS” LED, and a visual display for user feedback, The controller  605  comprises an electronic circuit including discrete logic and/or a microprocessor that receives inputs from the switches on the control panel  326 , magnetic switches  630 , an ultrasonic detector unit  630 , and an optical sensor unit  680 .  
         [0035]     The magnetic switches are positioned to detect the open/close status of the doors of the base cabinet, the presence or absence of the lid  304 , and the open/close status of the flaps located on the underside of the lid  304  of the apparatus  300 . If a door of the base cabinet is open or the lid  304  is not present, the motor  655  that drives the chisel blade assembly of the apparatus  300  is prevented from operating. On the other hand, an open flap is indicative of insertion of an object into the apparatus  300  and causes the motor  655  to operate.  
         [0036]     The ultrasonic detector unit  610  is connected to a bin present sensor  625  and a bin full sensor  620 , which detect whether a bin is present in the base cabinet of the apparatus  300  and whether a bin that is present is full, respectively, by way of distance measurement. For example, a full bin may be identified by detecting the level of cullet in the bin.  
         [0037]     Other embodiments of the present invention may use heat and moisture resistant adjustable photo electronic detection sensors in place of or in addition to the ultrasonic bin present and bin full sensors  625  and  620 , respectively. Use of a photo electronic detection sensor simplifies measurement of the level of cutlet in the bin, particularly when a non-standard bin is used.  
         [0038]     The controller  605  also provides an output to a solenoid  675  for locking the flaps located on the underside of the lid  304  of the apparatus  300  in a closed position to prevent objects being inserted into the apparatus  300 .  
         [0039]     Operation of the motor  655  is controlled by means of the motor control unit  615 , which operates a contactor relay  650  to connect or disconnect power to the motor  655 . Power is provided from single-phase  230 V mains via a plug socket  635 , a circuit breaker  640  and a fused mains on/off switch  645 . An automatic thermal overload switch may be used to prevent overheating of the motor  655  and the motor control unit  615 . Accordingly, operation of the motor  655  can be prevented until a blockage or foreign material inserted into the apparatus  300  is cleared. Mains power is provided to the motor control unit  615  via a mains filter  660 , a fuse  665 , and a transformer  616 . The ultrasonic detector unit  610 , the motor control unit  615  and the main switching relay  650  are provided in a sealed unit  670 . Various connectors and/or cable glands facilitate inputs and outputs to/from the sealed unit  670 , A smaller cullet size is generally preferable on account of occupying a relatively smaller volume. Final beneficiation generally requires cullet size to be in the range of  10  mm to  65  mm. Additionally, certain glass manufacturers require cutlet to be less than 50 mm in size. The average size of the cullet produced is affected by the rotational speed of the chisel assembly in that a lower rotational speed results in a larger average cullet size. A typical range of rotational speed that provides a suitable average cullet size is 400 rpm to 1200 rpm. In one embodiment, the rotational speed is approximately 930 rpm.  
         [0040]     The rotational speed of the chisel assembly may be fixed by the configuration of the motor (e.g., the number of poles) and the design of the drive train. In other embodiments, a user via the control panel  326  can control the rotational speed of the chisel assembly. For example, a 3-phase motor together with an inverter and a digital controller enable speed control of the chisel assembly.  
         [0041]      FIGS. 7 and 8  are operational flow charts for the apparatus of  FIG. 3 . Referring to  FIG. 7 , when it is detected at step  710  that the “START” button is pressed by a user of the apparatus, operation of the motor is enabled (standby mode) subject to the magnetic switches  630  that provide a safety interlock and that detect operation of the flaps, the solenoid is activated (in-position) to enable operation of the flaps, the green LED is turned on, and the number of times the flaps are activated by insertion of an item into the chute opening is accumulated and shown on the display, at step  715 . At step  720 , various inputs produced by sensors  620 ,  625  and switches  630  are sampled. A determination is made at step  725  whether the bin door is open. If yes (Y), power to the motor is removed, the green LED is turned off and the display is blanked at step  790 . Thereafter, processing continues at step  720 . If the bin door is not open (N), a determination is made at step  730  whether the top lid is open. If yes (Y), power to the motor is removed, the green LED is turned off and the display is blanked at step  790 . Thereafter, processing continues at step  720 . If the top lid is not open (N), a determination is made at step  735  whether the bin is present in the apparatus  300 . If the bin is out (Y), the display is made to flash the word “BIN”, the green LED is turned off, and the solenoid is deactivated (out-position), at step  780 . Thereafter, processing continues at step  720 . However, if the bin is not out (N), a determination is made at step  740  whether the bin is full. If the bin is full (Y), it is determined whether a 2-minute timer flag is set at step  780 . The 2-minute timer is activated when the “FORCE ON” button is pressed (see  FIG. 8 ) and expires after a 2-minute interval. This permits  2  minutes of further operation of the apparatus  300  after a fill bin is detected. The status of the 2-minute timer flag indicates whether the 2-minute timer has expired (flag reset) or not (set). Resetting of the 2-minute timer flag occurs when insertion of a bin is detected by the bin present sensor (i.e., detection of a bin replacement). If the 2-minute timer flag has been reset (N), the display is made to flash the word “BIN”, the green LED is turned off, and the solenoid is deactivated (out) to prevent insertion of further items, at step  785 . Thereafter, processing continues at step  720 . If the 2-minute timer flag is set (Y), at step  780 , or the bin is not full (N), at step  740 , a determination is made at step  750  whether the top flap(s) is/are open. If open (Y), the motor is turned on, the green LED is made to flash, the counter is incremented, a 15-second timer is activated, and a 15-second timer flag is set, at step  765 , The 15-second timer provides a fixed interval of operation of the apparatus  300  after insertion of an object into the apparatus  300 . The 15-second timer flag indicates whether the 15-second timer has expired (flag reset) or not (set). The 15-second timer flag is reset after a 15-second interval at step  770  and processing continues at step  720 . If the top flap is not open (N), a determination is made at step  755  whether the 15-second timer flag has been reset. If not (N), processing continues at step  720 . However, if the 15-second timer flag has been reset (Y), the motor and the green LED are turned off at step  760 , Thereafter, processing continues at step  720 .  
         [0042]     Turning now to  FIG. 8 , if at any stage the “STOP” button is pressed at step  810 , the motor is turned off, the solenoid is deactivated (out), the green LED is turned off, and the number of times the flaps have been activated by insertion of an item into the chute opening is shown on the display, at step  815 , If the “START” button is pressed at step  850 , the 2-minute timer flag is set at step  855  and the 2-minute timer is activated at step  860 . Thereafter, processing continues at step  720  of  FIG. 7 . Resetting of the 2-minute timer flag occurs when the bin present sensor detects insertion of a bin (i.e., a replacement bin is detected).  
         [0000]     Additional Embodiments and/or Features  
         [0043]     Another embodiment of the apparatus  300  includes a magnetic spring-triggered device for detecting bin presence and measuring the bin weight. Based on the bin weight, an indication of the fullness of the bin or the remaining bin capacity can be provided by means of a bar of LED&#39;s on the control panel  326 .  
         [0044]     Yet another embodiment of the apparatus  300  includes an optical sensor subsystem  680  connected to the controller  605  (as shown in  FIG. 6 ) for detecting foreign material, particularly ceramics. Detection is thus automatically performed on glass containers prior to breaking by one or more optical sensors mounted in the upper chute portion of the apparatus  300 . A contaminated bin or load of cullet can thus be identified and discarded prior to final beneficiation.  
         [0045]     The optical sensor sub-system  680  also enables monitoring of the colour of glass containers inserted through the flaps of the apparatus  300  and the approximate quantity of glass containers per colour category. This information is stored in a data-logger, for providing information relating to: 
        The total quantity of glass containers processed by the apparatus  300  and the quantity of glass containers of each colour category that are processed.     Contamination of batches/bins of cullet.     Usage of the machine for billing purposes and logistical planning of collection services.     Fault reporting.        
 
         [0050]     Information from the datalogger can be transferred via GSM as an SMS message to a remote computer system for performing quantity and quality control of a waste glass stream.  
         [0051]     A her optional feature allows the chisel assembly to be run in a reverse rotational direction for a predetermined period of time. This enables clearing of blockages of the chisels, for example, an object inserted while the chisels are stationary that prevents the chisels from rotating.  
         [0000]     Conclusion  
         [0052]     Embodiments of a method and an apparatus for processing glass have been described hereinbefore. The embodiments described advantageously reduce the amount of handling and transportation necessary for disposal of glass containers after use and/or improve the quality and consistency of the glass cullet produced. Improved quality and consistency of cullet enables an improved processing rate for the cullet at a beneficiation plant.  
         [0053]     The foregoing detailed description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configurations of the invention. Rather, the description of the exemplary embodiments provides those skilled in the art with enabling descriptions for implementing an embodiment of the invention. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims hereinafter.  
         [0000]     For Australia Only  
         [0054]     In the context of this specification, the word “comprising” means “including principally but not necessarily solely” or “having” or “including” and not “consisting only of”. Variations of the word comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises” have corresponding meanings.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8