Glazed Over

SUSTAINABLE LIVING | by CELESTE TELL

EVERY TIME I BUY A REAM OF PRINTER PAPER, that little “30% post-consumer” medallion reminds me what happens to the paper I put out in the recycling bin. But I’ve always wondered what happens to the glass after it gets picked up from the curb. Lately, I’ve been coming across all sorts of things made from re-used glass. From up-cycling to recycling, reclaiming to re-forming, a wide range of individuals and small to medium-sized companies are finding creative new uses for our cast-off bottles.

BLAZESTONE TILE FROM BEDROCK INDUSTIRES

On the artistic side of things, Russ Morgan up-cycles broken and tumbled glass with found metal into amazing one-of-a-kind lamps, chandeliers and sconces. Each one of Morgan’s pieces is a unique work of art. Check out his work online and through a selection of Seattle retailers. Also based in Seattle, Bedrock Industries masterfully converts post-industrial and post-consumer glass into beautiful kitchen and bath tile, creative gifts, and bulk landscaping materials made of 100-percent recycled glass.

Fire & Light in Arcata, Calif., makes hand-poured colored glass tableware and individual tabletop accessories from 91-percent recycled glass. The Green Glass Company in Wisconsin turns wine and soda bottles into collections of glasses, vases and candlesticks while maintaining the integrity of the original bottle form. Vetrazzo, based in Richmond, Calif., fabricates countertops and architectural panels from recycled glass fragments in a cement-based binder. Although you can choose a “color family,” each one is unique in the exact mix of glass fragments.

I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel better to think that every time I schlep those bottles out to the curb, not only are they not going to the landfill, they are going on to a whole fabulous new life!