Tumbled Glass As Mulch

I am really excited by something I found on the Internet yesterday. I was doing a search on how to do different garden pathways since I'm in the process of revamping my flower garden out back. I was looking for mosaic tiles to use in some stepping stones. I came across tumbled glass. Now, as a mosaic medium, tumbled glass is nice. It sparkles, and comes in many colors. But as I searched deeper, I found that people are using tumbled glass in their gardens in place of mulch!


What a concept! It is absolutely gorgeous! I was starting to get bored with the normal mulch, wood chips, and rock. This is just what I was looking for! And to make it even more exciting, I can make my own tumbled glass and save tons of money! All I need is a rock tumbler or a small cement mixer (for larger projects) and some old glass to break, and I'm all set.


I've got a small rock tumbler right now, so this morning, I broke a brown bottle and put it in there. Right now it's tumbling. By tomorrow, I should have something resembling beach glass, no sharp edges and perfectly smooth. If this works the way they say, I'm investing in a small cement mixer for about $150 and making tumbled glass for my garden.


Take a look at this picture. All that color is tumbled glass!

3 comments:

stingwray September 30, 2009 at 1:36 PM  

I too am trying to turn glass into mulch via a cement mixer. My passion is recycling/reusing, hence I wish to make a usable product from one of my favorite materials. Have you used a cement mixer yet? I'm doing my first batch in a borrowed cement mixer right now. sting wray

boomobile April 20, 2010 at 9:23 PM  

This image is from Bedrock Industries. I've been going there for YEARS. They sell to larger tile resellers, but by far if you can get to Seattle to visit them-you will have an awesome time! Not only do they have tumbled glass (by the ounce), but also crushed glass and blazestone tile. All recycled.

Unknown July 5, 2013 at 2:44 AM  

@boomobile: I'm so glad you knew that was in Seattle! I moved to Washington a year ago so I don't know the state well, but I am going to be heading to Seattle next month and now will have to go here!