Car break-ins in the San Francisco Bay area are down but not out. Local artisan Sydney Jones recycles glass in several ways through her small shop in Oakland called Odd Commodities. Her most popular is “Street Revival Collection,” a simple selection of four patterns of molten safety glass from car windows. Using a tabletop kiln, she takes advantage of safety glass’ crystalline structure to quickly turn the broken pieces into floral-themed earrings of jade green. The earrings typically run $20 to $30 a pair. Jones typically collects the glass herself with a broom and dustpan. Neighbors and fans of her work reach out when there’s been a break-in somewhere in the neighborhood, and Jones quickly arrives to sweep up. The most common glass recycling in the U.S. involves extreme heat, which is more likely to be carbon intensive and expensive. It’s not uncommon for trash collection companies to simply resort to landfills rather than investing in the expensive recycling method. Jones is happy she can reduce this impact, even if only in a small way.
