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BANG FOR THE BITE
Raw glass materials are usually inexpensive - $1.30/lb, although the countertops can be pricey. And creating a market for a recycled material is a HUGE step in the right direction.
COCKTAIL FACT
Glass is known as the "4th State of Matter" because it's actually a liquid, not a solid - it is made of liquid molecules that move really, really slowly. (We mean REALLY slowly).
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home › tip library › Recycled Countertops
Wondering what happened to that wine bottle you recycled? It might just end up in your countertop, fish tank or hors d' oeuvres table.
The Bite
30 years ago, last night's wine bottle would only find new life if you used it for a candleholder (but there was always that nagging problem of dripping wax). Today, however, recycled glass is being used in everything from pebbles for your driveway to countertops in your modern kitchen.The Benefits
- Stylish and easier to find than ever before - specialty recycled glass is a 2.3 billion dollar industry that will grow to 3.3 billion dollars by 2007.
- Saves landfill space - glass makes up 8% of average household waste and doesn't biodegrade.
- Saves energy - each bottle that is recycled for use in specialty glass saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for 4 hours.
- It's versatile - you can find products made from glass pieces of all sizes in more than 25 colors.
Personally Speaking
Recycled countertops are one of our favorite things in the home design world right now - stylish and funky. We especially like the ones made by Counter Production (see the "Wanna Try" section below, and be sure to check out their slides that show how the counters are made).Wanna Try?
- For garden and fish tank pebble glass, visit American Specialty Glass.
- For Terrazzo countertops made with recycled glass, our favorites are Ice Stone and Vetrazzo.
- Check out this Spring Vase made from a melted wine bottle, $22 at GreenFeet.
Aug 30,2005
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There was a funny story from The New York Times about the lengths the Japanese go to sort their trash, and the way they use shame to enforce the regulations. In Yokohama, which has 10 garbage categories, residents get 27-page booklet on how to sort their trash, with detailed instructions on 518 items. Imagine having volunteer garbage guardians spying into your trash bags to determine if you separated it correctly! Particularly poor at correct sorting are bachelors and intellectuals. (Ha!)
Hmmm, and we can hardly bring ourselves to recycle those four beer bottles we just slammed through.
I do understand that recycling can be a big pain in the ur... glass, but nothing is easier to clean out and usually all towns have some type of glass recycling. Where I live, you have to take the bottles to the dump, and then you can put the glass bottles into this big metal container with a little circular hole, I guess to make sure someone doesn't try to recycle a windshield or something. It is kind of fun to hear the glass break as you push it through, but then I wonder if a recycling person will get cut. That would be bad.
Off to break up some beer bottles for use in my kitchen tile mosaic (hey, it saves a trip to the dump),
Jen
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Posted by: Barbara | September 19, 2005 at 06:48 PM