Assessing the feasibility of regional glass remanufacturing within municipal waste systems: A case study from...

Glass recovery remains a persistent challenge in regional municipal waste systems due to limited infrastructure, low material volumes, and fragmented end markets. This study assesses the feasibility of regional glass remanufacturing in Ararat, Victoria, Australia, using a qualitative case study supported by screening-level quantitative scenario analysis. Sixteen semi-structured interviews with stakeholders across government, industry, and academia were analyzed thematically across four feasibility domains: technical, economic, governance, and social. Findings indicate that regional glass remanufacturing may provide environmental and institutional benefits but is unlikely to be economically viable at an individual municipal scale under current regional conditions. Key constraints include insufficient feedstock volume, contamination risks, transport dependence, capital intensity, fragmented governance, and uncertain end-market demand. Screening-level scenario estimates suggest that regional feedstock aggregation and inter-council coordination would be necessary to approach indicative minimum throughput conditions identified in existing industry and government literature. Rather than presenting a deterministic feasibility model, the study develops an exploratory systems-based Feasibility Decision Framework intended to support early-stage policy and infrastructure discussions in regional contexts. The study contributes theoretically by conceptualizing feasibility as an emergent systems condition shaped by governance alignment, infrastructure proximity, behavioral participation, and institutional coordination. It further develops the concept of "loop visibility" to explain how visible local material recovery processes may strengthen public trust and participation in circular economy systems. Practically, the findings highlight the importance of regional collaboration, procurement-supported market formation, and multi-level governance coordination in advancing circular economy implementation in non-metropolitan municipal waste systems.Implications: This study informs local government and state-level decisions regarding regional glass remanufacturing investment, procurement reform, and inter-council infrastructure coordination. The findings indicate that remanufacturing feasibility in regional municipalities is contingent upon three primary levers: maintaining low contamination rates in source-separated glass streams, aggregating feedstock acrossneighboringcouncils to achieve economically viable throughput and embedding recycled-content standards within public procurement frameworks tostabilizedemand. Targeted capital support for regional aggregation hubs and transport subsidies may further reduce scale-related constraints. If these measures are implemented, regional councils can move beyond landfill diversion toward economically viable glass-to-glass remanufacturing, with the potential to reduce transport-related emissions, lower lifecycle greenhouse gas intensity through increased cullet substitution, improve material recovery rates, and strengthen public confidence in municipal recycling systems.