Glass pollution

Glass pollution refers to the adverse environmental effects of disposed glass products. While silica itself is relatively benign, the glass industry typically adds toxins, including polymers and heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic. The proper disposal of fluorescent lamps, many of which contain traces of mercury, is often neglected, leading to large scale soil contamination. Most of us throw away used glass bottles and other objects made of glass without proper disposal procedure. The huge amount of glass-waste piled up in nature around us is a cause of threat to our environment. Recycling glass is one of the many ways for reducing pollution due to glass-waste. Interestingly, glass can be reused an infinite number of times. In recycling glass, energy is saved. Glass produced from recycled glass reduces related air pollution as well as water pollution. Also, the amount of mining-waste is reduced in using recycled glass. Glass can be melted down and made into many different forms from drinking glasses to glass fiber. When the glass is taken to a manufacturing or recycling plant, it is broken up into smaller pieces called cullet. The broken pieces are crushed, sorted, cleaned, and prepared to be mixed with other raw materials like soda ash and sand. The raw materials and glass pieces are melted in a furnace and then shaped into moulds to make new bottles of different colours and sizes. New recycled bottles and jars are made in this way.

References

http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/project_ideas/recycling_glass/

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