Thursday, May 3, 2012

Creative Use of Recycled Glass In Concrete

As seen a former post, glass bottles are repurposed in building construction. Glass can also be recycled into making concrete.


Concrete is the mixture of cement, sand and aggregate. 
Source:tampafloridarealestatefinder.com
Polished concrete is called terrazzo. Terrazzo has been used in construction for many years. Terrazzo was created when workers took discarded marble chips and added it to clay to surface the terraces outside their homes.


Source:arcadianflooring.com
When the clay was dry the surface was polished using blocks that progressed from rough to fine abrasives.  The finished surface was polished exposing the marble chips.


Source:John Lambert Pearson 
Glass bottles and other forms of post and or pre-consumer glass waste can be used as the aggregate in concrete. The addition of glass gives the surface a translucent and sometimes sparkling quality. 


Counter tops are also constructed of glass aggregate terrazzo. If the glass pieces are large enough the counter can be lighted from below. 


It takes an artist to create a beautiful terrazzo.



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