Going Green and Recycling Ceramics
The world has gone green and recycling is an important part of that movement. Ceramics would seem an unlikely choice to be part of this movement, but they are integral to keeping the landfills low and the planet safe from waste. They can be recycled in many different forms and provide unique opportunities to people who want to participate in keeping the world a better place for future generations to live and grow. Many ceramics can be reused in different mediums or they can be up-cycled for modern art creations.
A hard but brittle material, many ceramics may break over time. Once this happens, some can be fixed, but many cannot be restored to their original look. In plates and vases, ceramics will have cracks that can still be seen once they have been repaired. Glass windows are rarely able to be glued together again and must be replaced. This does not mean the ceramic pieces cannot be used in a different way to save them from the landfill.
Broken plates and vases can be recycled into art pieces. Many have been made with the color added to the original clay mix. This means that the color is the same throughout even the edges of the broken pieces. It makes them a wonderful candidate for adding to a mural made with different elements. Broken pieces can also be used as a starting point for new art objects by adding wood, metal or glass attachments. Incorporating them into new clay pieces is another way to recycle them. Using individual pieces covered with glass decals or glass transfers makes them a perfect addition for many projects. Imagination is limitless when reforming broken ceramic pieces into new shapes and objects.
Glass is one of the most versatile ceramics for reuse. It can be melted down to help form new glass pieces. It has been recycled for years in this manner. Adding it to a new molten glass mix helps cut the cost of materials and does not take away from the strength of the new product. Melting takes away any impurities in the broken glass and the shaping of the final object will be the same. Glass does not decompose for at least a million years and recycling it is a great way to have a greener world.
