Although glass was once a costly material used in very limited applications, today’s large-scale production systems are made glass a huge portion of our lives. Though its attractiveness is a welcome addition to the home, the negative side of this romance is that without recycling, glass goes right to the landfill once we’re finished with that. Though glass is inert and not directly hazardous to the planet, it stays in landfills indefinitely.
The good news is that glass is more recyclable — not only once, but on and on, without any degradation of the material. Consider a few of those ideas for bringing the sparkle of recycled glass in your residence.
West Elm
Recycled Glass Jug – $19
The fundamentals: Recycling reduces the amount of waste glass the demand for raw materials quarried in the landscape. Additionally, it uses 50 percent less energy to recycle glass than to create new glass out of sand, soda and lime.
Plus, the more cullett (crushed glass) used to create recycled glass, the lower the temperature the furnace should reach — and that prolongs the life of the furnace.
Programs: Recycled glass countertops have made it even simpler to incorporate recycled glass in the home. They come as 100% recycled glass as recycled glass combined with resin or concrete.
Recycled glass backsplashes, tiles, tableware, accessories and even processors (shown within a landscape) can all be used to create your home and backyard beautiful.
Woodmeister Master Builders
Experts: Recycled glass may be coloured and backlit, and may have various textured finishes implemented, so the design options are bountiful. More significant, there is an expansive glass recycling civilization in both the United Kingdom and the United States, which eliminates any need to buy recycled glass products from different countries if you live there; you won’t trash its green credentials with unnecessary transport.
Lindy Donnelly
Recycled glass is also durable. Glass is among the few substances that may be recycled infinitely with no losing strength, purity or quality; recycled glass products are as durable as the first glass.
Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..
Disadvantages: There are very few disadvantages to recycled glass, with the exception of the high price of some products. Do your research — recycled glass tableware is usually fairly priced, but recycled glass construction materials can get expensive.
Latera Architectural Surfaces / Dorado Stone
Considerations: Glass chip-based products rely upon concrete or a resin-binding material. The recycled content of those mixed work surfaces ranges from 70 to 85 percent.
Environmentally it requires a lot of energy to extract the raw materials and produce the cement. Resin, generally, is a petrochemical product derived from a nonrenewable resource (unless it’s formulated from plant-based sources). For concrete, look for combinations. But, transport costs for this thick material can be large, both environmentally and financially.
Shannon Malone
Upcycling: In the United Kingdom we import more brown and green glass than we can recycle, so we send green crushed glass back to Portugal for recycling. Since coloured glass has to be separated out of clear glass in the recycling process, think about upcycling those wine bottles intact — like this light fixture that is innovative.
More: Your lead to an ecofriendly kitchen