Sea glass, a treasure formed from trash, is on the decline as single-use plastic takes over

By Lori Weeden, Teaching Professor of Environmental Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, UMass Lowell

When you stroll along a beach, you may look down and spot colorful bits of worn glass mixed in with the sand. But the little treasures you’ve found actually began as discarded trash.

As an environmental science professor, I find these gifts from the sea particularly interesting. I have analyzed sand from across the world and added samples, including one of sea glass, into a collection for the environmental, earth and atmospheric sciences at UMass Lowell. The way this trash-turned-treasure washes…

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