Recycled Glassworks

Recycled Glassworks is a small recycling business located in Oakland, California. The owner and artist responsible for this innovative business is Lauren Becker. For years she wanted to start a recycling business so she could support herself in a way that she would be comfortable with. "I'd never be able to work in an environment that involved the daily consumption of virgin natural resources. It's a big part of who I am."

Recycled Glassworks reuses 1/4-inch plate glass as its primary raw material. The studio is also recycling glass traffic light lenses. They are being taken out of use throughout the state and replaced with LED displays. The traffic lenses are being fired flat, prism side down, and they can be used as dishes in two sizes, 8 1/2 inch and 11 1/2 inch. Recycled Glassworks has processed more than one ton of traffic lens glass in the last year.

The plate glass has a variety of uses. More than 500 pounds of plate glass has been processed in the last year. A visit to the Web site at www.recycledglassworks.com is necessary in order to get the full scope of the production line. Lauren shows her larger and one of-a-kind pieces, along with her more functional glassware, at craft shows around the San Francisco Bay Area and during open studios. (Schedule information for shows is available on the Web site.) Recycled Glassworks is also available for wedding registry.

In the studio's kilns, plate glass is "slumped," or heated to its softening point, so that it will slowly land onto the mold under it. Designs that are hand cut and individually laid out for each piece are impressed on the underside of the pieces while hot. The quarter-inch thickness of the glass is maintained during the gentle firing, resulting in finished pieces that are quite durable and able to stand up to everyday kitchen use. Made entirely from recycled materials, Recycled Glassworks is a perfect blend of beauty and practicality.

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Last updated: August 01, 2008