"Crushed Glass to Be Spread on Beaches"

[GreenPartyVoter]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - Picture a beautiful beach spanning miles of coastline, gently lapped by aqua-colored water - and sprinkled with glass.

Ouch? Think again. It feels just like sand, but with granules that sparkle in the sunlight.

Faced with the constant erosion of Florida's beaches, Broward County officials are exploring using recycled glass - crushed into tiny grains and mixed with regular sand - to help fill gaps.

It's only natural, backers of the idea say, since sand is the main ingredient in glass.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20070826/D8R8S6FO0.html

[MethuenProgressive]

1. That's recycling!

Sand to sand.

[Warpy]

10. Yeah, as long as they grind it finely enough

it shouldn't be any different from grains of beach sand.

Seems odd that they're not just turning it back into whiskey bottles, though. I guess plastic has taken over everywhere.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Ever seen beach glass? n/t

[Gman]

3. I don't know but I'm thinking that

this is probably one of the (no) THE absolutely stupidest ideas I've ever heard. EVER heard!

[ret5hd]

4. Really? What is glass made of?

[Fridays Child]

7. I'm no expert but...

...it seems like, any time a significant foreign element is introduced into an ecosystem, things go out of whack. I understand that sand and glass are related, and that their similar properties may mitigate any potentially negative changes. But no one will really know the consequences of this intervention for a few years, at least. I hope it's restricted to a small area and thoroughly studied.

[Delphinus]

17. Your thoughts on foreign elements

being introduced and throwing things out of whack rings true to me.

[Gman]

13. It's made of

about 70% SiO₂ which is not as abrasive naturally as glass.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. Sparkling Beaches?

Oh man, are those beaches gonna be PACKED in the Florida Spring 'Shroom Season! ;-)

[Ediacara]

6. Glass may be made from sand, but sand isn't made of glass

Natural beach sand is (mostly) quartz and some other tectosilicates, but glass is well, glass. It's amorphous SiO₂, whereas quartz is crystalline SiO₂. This is an interesting idea, but I don't think it's clear that this will do much to stop erosion. Slow it down yes, but I think stopping erosion in southern Florida is a lost cause.

[Richard D]

9. It'll be a moot point in a few years

[madokie]

11. if that map is true and it is what happens we are going to be some crowded mo' fo's ain't we

[Trillo]

8. Why isn't the glass simply remelted

and made into new bottles (or whatever)? Is it too energy inefficient? If so, Why does it take less energy to make new glass from sand (or other raw ore), than from already refined glass? Is it too hard to remove the impurities from the glass, such as that known as soda, soda-lime, lead, borosilicate, etc., glasses?

Perhaps glass manufacturing and recycling needs a stamp or marking indicating the type such as used with plastics?

Just asking.

[madokie]

12. too simple I guess

so simple no ones thought of it yet, maybe huh ;-)

[NNadir]

14. There is an energetic penalty for sorting different colored glass.

This program is actually a good idea, I think.

[eppur_se_muova]

15. Glass fractures quite differently from quartz (natural silica).

Fractured glass leaves a very sharp edge, used in microscalpels for neurosurgery where no other blade is fine enough (except diamond, $$$). Quartz has an irregular fracture, so quartz grains tend not to have sharp points or edges. Remember that spear points, arrowheads, etc. are made from obsidian (volcanic glass), or other rocks with conchoidal fracture (such as glass displays), and that quartz points/blades are rather rare (despite quartz being more common than obsidian), mostly made from strikingly colored rock, and presumably used for ceremonial purposes only.

Yes, you can make arrow/spear points from glass -- I've seen dozens. Flintknappers like to make these for show.



Personally, I'd avoid any beach made from broken glass. No telling what harm it will do to wildlife, either.

[losthills]

16. Glass containers should be refilled

and reused.

Florida should figure out why they are losing their beach sand. I guarrantee you it's because of human behavior. The best way to deal with these issues is to get yourself in tune with nature and stop trying to control everything.

What's the carbon expense of grinding up all that glass and spreading it around year after year when you know it will meet the same fate as the original sand?

It's lunatic, and it peobably would violate the Endangered Species Act for obvious reasons...

[XemaSab]

18. I thought most of the sand down there was from coral, not quartz

:shrug: