Can Frosted Glass be recycled?

Frosted glass is a popular choice for homeowners looking to make a room a little more private. Here at Stevenage Glass, we can manufacture and supply bespoke frosted glass, to your exact specifications.

What is frosted glass used for?

Also known as obscured glass, frosted glass is often used in rooms like bathrooms, for windows in front doors, or even in commercial properties.

This form of obscure glass (obscure because of their partial non-transparency) provides you with a lot more privacy, without forcing you to forsake the light levels of the room. 

How is frosted glass made?

Frosted glass is created by etching or sandblasting a sheet of glass. Doing so creates a textured, blurry surface.  Frosted glass allows light through, but creates a distorted image looking through it.

Sandblasted Glass

Sandblasted glass uses a sandblaster to etch a design or effect onto the glass without the use of chemicals. This process usually leaves a textured finish to the glass.

Acid-Etched Glass

Acid-etched glass is annealed glass that is then treated with acid to create the frosted effect. This process created a smoother finish to the glass than sandblasting.

Layered Laminated Glass

With laminated glass you can add an internal layer that creates the frosted effect, however this usually effects how much light can pass through the glass.

Can you recycle frosted glass?

Frosted glass can be used for a huge number of different applications, in the home and the workplace alike. However, while it offers users great benefits in the form of its versatility and super effective privacy, frosted glass does have some downsides. One of its main drawbacks is the fact that you have to be careful about recycling frosted glass.

The reason why glass recycling cannot stretch to some varieties of frosted glass comes down to the way that it is made. Some types of frosted glass are made using chemicals in the process, which would act as a major contamination.

Frosted glass can be recycled when the glass is made using non-chemical techniques – such as sandblasting. As such, since this is free from environmentally harmful contaminants, it can be popped into the recycling bin.

• Made with Chemicals = Do Not Recycle
• Made without Chemicals = Fine to Recycle

This glass is recycled at a glass treatment plant, where the glass is sorted, cleaned and then heated until it melts. From there, it can be remoulded and start its life as brand new glass bottles and jars. As you can see, in order to reach this specific melting point, it is vital that there are no impurities in this big pile of glass, as this would ruin all of the glass and prevent it from being successfully recycled. 

At Stevenage Glass, we are specialist glass manufacturers, working at the forefront of the UK glass industry ever since our foundation in 1966. As such, we pride ourselves on our extensive knowledge of the latest techniques and innovations in glassware creation and recycling.

We’re here to answer your common queries about glass manufacturing and recycling, and share our industry knowledge with you.