Consumer Products Made From Recycled Glass

Besides artistic uses of recycled glass, more and more companies are inventing methods for using this type of glass.

Kitchen Countertops

Several companies are using mosaic type bits of broken recycled glass embedded in a concrete or resin mix for kitchen countertops. If you are looking for something besides granite, they are a colorful alternative. The Vetrazzo Company is one of the companies that carry this product.

See www.vetrazzo.com

Glass Tiles

Recycled glass in glass tiles is becoming very popular and I think they will eventually become the norm for backsplashes instead of the ceramic tiles. Glass tiles are just as strong and durable as ceramic and come in all shapes and sizes from pebble or stone shaped to conjoined circles to the traditional subway tile. The iridescent tiles, such as the ones carried by Oceanside Glass, can reflect multiple colors and they are stunning works of art. It is important to note that the recycled glass percentage can vary in all of these tiles depending on the manufacturer and the color of the tile.

See http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/recycled_glass_tiles.htm for a list of companies carrying these tiles.

Construction Aggregate

Crushed recycled glass is being used as a road base additive for asphalt, for drainage, highway fill, and even for landfill cover.

See www.ehow.com/how_2309666_use-crushed-recycled-glass-construction.html for more ideas.

Recycled Garden Glass Mulch

Several companies sell a type of tumbled recycled glass that makes for a shiny accent to your landscaping. Since glass can take 1000 years to breakdown, this mulch is best used on walkways and as an accent. While biodegradable bark mulch will improve your soil as it breaks down, these glass rocks are a novel accent.

However, I am curious how much heat they would retain on a very hot day and whether it would be that easy to keep them clean. Installing some sort of landscape edging would likely be necessary to prevent the glass rocks from floating out of place during a rainstorm.

See http://www.closetheloop.com/products/gardenglassmulch.html for more information.