How Recycled Glass Is Used
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Home Uses
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In today's world, there has been an increased emphasis on going "green" and preserving the planet. The result has been that many people do whatever they can to pitch in and help to reduce, reuse and recycle. One of those recyclable items is glass. The sources of recycled glass are windows, dinnerware, stained glass and deconditioned traffic lights. This glass gets collected and reused for home uses such as kitchen countertops, storm water drainage systems and fiberglass insulation.
Reproduction
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One of the most common ways that recycled glass is used is in the production of new glass bottles. Oftentimes, bars, pubs, restaurants, schools and stores have designated recycling cans set up to help people recycle. These businesses or organizations then collect all of the bottles and take them to a local recycling center where they are processed to get reused. This action helps to lower emissions, save energy and reduce landfill.
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Roads
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There are locations in Great Britain that are using recycled glass for roads. The Waterford County Council, for example, collects approximately 30 tons of glass per month from pubs and bottle banks. They then commission companies to use it in their batches with road projects, which subsequently mix in about 10% recycled glass to macadam and lay it out. This new road surface has the same appearance as regular macadam and is generally used on back roads and as an underlayment for bigger road projects.
Decorative Surfaces
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Recycled glass is also used for flooring and decorative surfaces. A company named EnviroGLAS uses recycled glass to make floor surfaces such as plank tile, terrazzo and an exterior surface called EnviroSCAPE. This is a cutting-edge, new landscaping trend. Recycled glass is used to line fountains, is placed on walkways as decorative ground cover and is used as an alternative to sand.
Blasting
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Recycled glass is also used for sand blasting. Some procedures include cleaning corrosion off of metal and cast iron, refinishing wood, resurfacing paint and cleaning debris off of heavy equipment. There are many benefits to using recycled glass instead of other types of media: It has no toxicity when used, it is inert, it doesn't take as much to use so it saves money and it does not contain crystalline silica like a lot of other sandblasting materials do (if crystalline silica is breathed in over time, it can cause a condition called silicosis where nodules form in the lungs, making it hard to breathe).
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