Friday, May 23, 2014

Guide To Recycled Glass For Landscaping

By Marci Glover


Glass recycling is the process by which waste glasses are melted to make new products. To do this, recycled glass for landscaping must be separated according to chemical composition and then, depending on the planned use, they can also be split according to color. It can be recycled 100%, an indefinite number of times. After the treatment, the glassware is transported to the production plant where it is melted and becomes a new product. After this stage, the packaging is sent to the bottling plants, where they are filled and then returned to the distribution network.

This material is processed into expanded granulate, for example. The lightweight filler is used in the construction chemicals industry, in acoustic panels in solid wall construction materials as well as in the renovation of old buildings. Process of purification of waste glassware for the production of new glass packaging involves the separation of iron particles with magnetic separator; capture of larger foreign materials by hand; crushing to 15 mm in a crusher.

During its production, air pollution is not a problem since most furnaces operate on electricity. To minimize gaseous emissions from furnaces, industries use natural gas which causes less impact on the environment. The reuse of glassware is preferable to recycling. Bottles are widely reused in many European countries and Brazil. In Denmark, 98% of bottles are reused.

If the above are placed in a melting oven, they could cause machine damage and production stoppages. Also, some types of cut-glass with additives, such as lead (lead oxide glassware, lead crystal), and normal drinking glasses are undesirable in this type of waste collection because they change the composition. Ceramics, stones, porcelain that are broken into thousands of small pieces - make new packaging unusable.

The cullet is heated to 1600 degrees, mixed with 50% sand, sodium hydroxide and limestone to make new products that have identical properties with respect to glassware made directly from raw materials. The collection points, known as Bottle Banks are very common in commercial centers. Bottle banks are normally found in the collection points with other recyclables such as paper, metals and plastic.

Finally the material is washed to remove the packaging, ground to facilitate liquefaction and liquefied again becoming raw material for industries. Glassware is mainly composed of quartz sand (silica). Quartz sand makes up 12% of the earth's crust. Further constituents are lime, dolomite and soda. It comes in a variety of different products: packaging, tableware, window, mirrors, optical equipment, equipment for chemical-technical applications and many more.

In the UK, there are about 50,000 recycling bins receiving 752,000 tonnes each year. However, the recycling industry cannot consume all the materials that have accumulated over the years, mainly due to differences in coloration. The UK imports much more green glasses shaped wine bottles leading to an excess for recycling.

The collection of waste wineglass is generally done by inserting in public glass containers, which are separated by color. Only uncolored glasses (white) and colored glasses (stained) can be distinguished in the collection. The color separation is important for the recycling process. A green bottle of champagne, for example, leads to unwanted color casts in the melting process for colorless glassware.




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