Cullet

Description

Small or broken pieces of glass. Ancient glass manufacturers incorporated cullet in their work. Glass has a lower melting point than its components. When glass pieces and raw materials are mixed and heated, the glass pieces melt first and act as a solvent for the sand and metal oxides. Thus, the glass pieces reduce the time and energy required for making glass. Currently, cullet refers to glass fragments gathered for recycling.

Synonyms and Related Terms

waste glass; culot (Fr.); cullet (Ned.); casco (Port.)