Sea Glass History

Glass is no longer used as it was in the past. Less than four decades ago everything came in glass bottles or jars. Milk was delivered to homes in glass bottles. Plastic was still a product of the future. Trash collection was not fully developed, and recycling was non existent. In coastal areas, many residents would bury their trash in the sand or simply toss it in the ocean. Dumps were located on sea-side cliffs. Today we know better and act differently (or let us hope so). With heightened environmental awareness, the advent of recycling, and the wide use of plastic for beverages, sea glass is becoming increasingly harder to find, and therefore, more collectable. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Glass was first manufactured in the USA in the 1790’s, and since then we have made it into all shapes, sizes, and colors. Beer bottles, whiskey, gin, and wine bottles. Fruit jars, milk bottles, food, mineral water, and soda bottles. Medicine bottles, drug, and poison containers. Electric insulators, ink bottles, tableware, and Depression glass. The glass gets into the ocean from shipwrecks, landfills, or boaters and is then tumbled smooth by waves and sand. Depending on the type of shoreline, tumbling will produce glass shards that are sharp and angular in shape, or on sandy beaches the tumbling will wear it down to a well rounded shape. Each piece of Sea Glass has an interesting history behind it. Tumbled by waves and sand, each piece has a unique shape to it. Some are triangular, some are round, some are shaped like a teardrop, and some are shaped like Zimbabwe.