Since they are made of glass, are mirrors recyclable? Some mirrors can be recycled, this is based on the ability of the recycling companies within your area, you would need to check to see, what they can recycle. Large materials that are damaged, are normally disposed of and not recycled, due to the difficulty. The materials used to make light bulbs, window glass, and mirrors, are coated with chemical substances that prevent them from being recycled at a normal recycling plant.
These glass materials can nonetheless be re-purposed. Business manufacturers that take in broken glass, normally convert the glass into construction materials like asphalt and fiberglass. Broken mirrors would need to be dealt with with care at disposal. At disposal, the broken mirror would need to be wrapped in a newspaper, and the newspaper would need to be sealed with strong tape. This will protect the sanitation worker who is handling the disposing of the material.
So how to dispose of a mirror:
- Wrap the (broken) mirror in a newspaper or blankets
- Seal with a strong tape
Why are mirrors so hard to recycle?
The reason why glass is hard to recycle is because of the reflective coating, that is varnished on the back of the glass, for one to see their reflection. That coating contaminates other materials, making it harder for them to be recycled. Well, the glass that is used to make mirrors are already hard to recycle, this is because of the different temperatures at which each glass liquefies. When the glass is recycled, it is crushed into tiny pieces called cullet.
The cullet is placed into a furnace, along with other materials, such as sand and limestone, these materials are needed to make the new glass. The chamber can reach temperatures between 2600 F and 2800 F, based on the kind of glass. Around these temperatures, the different glass materials will liquefy, and they will be reshaped into new items like mirrors, bottles, pots, and pans. It is just too difficult to do the recycling of each glass individually, and some types of glass cannot be recycled together, it would cause both glasses to be unstable, not capable of being used. This is why, it is very important that only certain types of glass mirrors, be put in the recycling bin!
Conclusion
Some mirrors can be recycled, this is based on the ability of the recycling companies within your area. Only a little amount of work would be needed to be done, to safely dispose of broken mirrors, to ensure that no one will be injured by sharp fragments of glass. If you are going to throw the broken mirror in the recycle bin, sell it, make something new of it or donate it for some other use, remember to always have on leather gloves, to contain the pieces of glass mirror in a sealed newspaper. In the long run, it is better to have the glass mirror disposed of properly, this is because glass takes a very long time to decompose. It is up to us to reprocess whatever material that can be recycled, to make something that can be of use.
Sources Include:
https://www.gpi.org/glass-recycling-facts
https://www.recyclenow.com/recycling-knowledge/how-is-it-recycled/glass