“BLITZ GLASS”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 August 1941, Page 7

“BLITZ GLASS”

COLLECTED & USED AGAIN. ELEVEN THOUSAND TONS SOLD. Questions are frequently being asked about the disposal of broken glass resulting from air raids. After each “blitz’ Quantities of broken and splintered glass lie about the streets until collected. What happens to this glass? Can it be used again? As soon as the “all clear” has sounded after a raid, a system, organised by the local public authorities, is employed for the collection and disposal of all cullet, which is the technical name for broken glass. The glass has to be kept as clean as possible and the various colours segregated. After being taken from, the bombed areas, it is stored at the local depots and then sold. Up to the end of last February, 11,000 tons of cullet had been sold in this way. The glass is then washed, and all extraneous matter removed, after which it is crushed, and mixed with other raw materials before being put into the furnace and converted into glass containers. It can also be employed for the making of glass paper, and for providing good foundations for new roads and paths. While it is a fact that broken glass suitable for further use is wasted, it has not been found possible to handle all types of cullet in the glass industry. In order that it may be employed in the manufacture of glass, cullet must be free from foreign matter.