Crystal [glass with a 30% lead oxide content (Pb3O4)] is
glass which an individual will purchase with emotion, desire and ambition, but
which, before reaching the final consumer, will undergo thorough quality
analysis controls leading to a great amount of waste.
For every ten pieces manufactured, four are broken, of
which two are reintroduced in the production process and the remaining two become
waste. Because crystal is desirably pure, as only crystal can be, a glass of
incomparable shine with excellent light refraction, any kind of flaw in a piece
implies that it will be transformed into waste.
Recycling involves transformation processes which enable
their agglomeration. Initially, glass is separated according to its
granulometry, since each granulometric dimension will produce a different
result in any recycling process.
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Light box recycle crystal |
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Light box recycle crystal |
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Light box recycle crystal |
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Recycled glass tile in box light |
The more direct recycling techniques involve thermal
process of melting the material, combining selected granulometries without the
addition of virgin raw material. All these crystal recycling processes are used
to manufacture objects of emotional design, ranging from light signs for
advertising, pleasure, information purposes, to vertical linings in
architecture. These projects are only feasible if they are used in occasional
situations, since the scarcity of the material requires conditioned use.