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What the heck is sea glass and beach glass? Where does it come from? Where can it be found? Read on to find out.
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If you've never seen sea glass before, it's just a piece of glass. It's literally a piece of glass you'll find on many of Hawaii's beaches. It's quite literally beach trash. Of course, for many (especially collectors) it's so much more than trash. For those who love to collect sea glass, this stuff is treasure!What Is Sea Glass & Beach Glass?
First up, we have to clarify the name. Is it beach glass or is it sea glass? It's both. They mean the same thing. There are certainly plenty of "glass" divas out there that might try to tell you that sea glass comes only from salt water oceans while beach glass is only found on freshwater beaches but the truth is that it's the same thing. We use the terms interchangeably here.
Beach glass, or sea glass if you prefer, is simply glass found on a beach or from a body of water like an ocean. It's found virtually everywhere on the world's many beaches. It can be found in other places like streams, lakes, and so on but this is a Hawaii website so we're mainly focusing on glass that comes from ocean water and beaches for this article.
How Is Sea Glass & Beach Glass Created?
So where does the glass come from? Everywhere and everything you can think of. It could a piece of glass that came from a broken perfume bottle that sunk on a ship hundreds of years ago. Or it could be a piece of a beer bottle from some partying beachgoers just last week. It literally comes from everywhere and everything.
What starts as an item made of glass somehow finds it's way into the ocean, either whole or in broken pieces. Remember, a huge variety of human trash ends up in our oceans which is why we have The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Even if you don't live near the coast, some of your trash likely ends up in our oceans.
Over time, and we're talking about years, decades, and even centuries, the glass will tumble around in the ocean. Some of that glass will work its way towards coastlines from natural wave action. As glass moves around and crashes into reefs and rocks it will break into smaller pieces. Those piece will then tumble in the ocean and sand and will smooth out just like a rock in a rock tumbler.
If the glass has been in the ocean for a while (years and decades) it will likely be very smooth and well rounded like a river stone. If the glass is still sharp or has rough edges it hasn't been tumbling nearly as long.
There are many other factors as well. The higher pH levels in saltwater along with high levels of carbon dioxide in the water can increase the smoothing process. The exact ingredients in the original glass also impact how well the glass will smooth out and how long that process will take.
Where Can I Find Sea Glass & Beach Glass?
Ready to go hunt for your own beach glass? Well, you'll need a beach! Lucky for you, Hawaii is filled with many beaches on every island. While you can probably find some sea glass (if you look hard enough) on almost any Hawaii beach, not all beaches are good for hunting glass. On a similar note, a beach that's good for glass hunting this month may not be so good next month. Winter waves may wash up large amounts of glass while calmer summer waves make create a beach glass dry spell. Even the time of day, because of tide level changes, can impact how much glass there is.
So, where can you start? Start with a beach you like for reasons beyond just glass hunting. Look for beaches that aren't overly crowded with people who will be in the way. For example, The Beaches Of Waikiki are not a great choice usually.
Find a safe beach and look for the wave patterns or sets. Watch the waves and see when a larger set comes in and keep an eye on how high the water washes up the sandy beach. That high water line is a good place to start looking. Just look down and walk, but always keep an eye on those waves so you don't get knocked down or pulled in! For more on safety read: Hawaii Dangers - Read Before You Go.
Glass Beach
It's hard to recommend one beach over another when it comes to finding beach glass in Hawaii. There are so many variables involved so my advice is to get out and explore the beaches you can and just see how it goes. Hopefully you're not there just for the glass and it will be a fun experience regardless of what you find or don't find. Of course, if you're headed to Kaua'i then be sure you don't miss Glass Beach. It's easily the most glass filled beach on all of the islands.
What Color Sea Glass & Beach Glass Is Out There?
Simple, name a color. Got one? It's out there. Glass has been made in all types of colors and thus beach glass is available in all types of colors. The most common colors that probably make up 99% of the beach glass you will find are brown, white/clear, and green. Why? Because these are the most common colors of glass items. Go look at a beer bottle and you'll see what I mean. It's likely clear (which will turn whitish), brown, or green.
The more rare colors are going to be red, blue, yellow, and orange. True yellow is hard to find so don't get too excited if you see a tiny or thin piece of yellow which is more likely brown glass (it appears yellow when small and thin). Most collectors will agree that red and dark blues are the big scores in the glass hunting game, but only if fully rounded and polished.
Glass that is still sharp or jagged isn't usually much of a collector piece.
Is It Legal To Take Sea Glass & Beach Glass?
This is an interesting question that comes up from time to time. Before we get into that, please note that you should NOT take home from anywhere in Hawaii. Ignore our warnings and you may bring home the wrath of Pele - The Volcano Goddess with you, which is not the Hawaiian souvenir you want. Instead, these are the Hawaiian souvenirs you're looking for.
As for taking home glass, there are people who insist that this is illegal. It's possible that it is in some places around the world. For example, if there was an official government sign disallowing seaglass removal then you should follow the rules there. In Hawaii, we've never seen such a sign or heard of any laws forbidding the removal of beach glass.
And while a few will disagree with me here, remember that beach glass is actually trash. It's waste created by humans. It's not a naturally created mineral or resource of any kind. To me, removing beach glass is cleaning up the beach. On that note, while you are beachcombing be sure to remove other trash as well. You'll find plenty of plastic bits, bottle caps, fishing lines and hooks (be careful!), broken surfboard fins, melted bits of metal, and so on. Do your part and clean the beach as you go.
Why would anyone want the beach glass to stay? Some believe that the glass is part of the beach now, just like sand. Others see the "treasure" value in it and fear that everyone will rush to take their bit of the booty and nothing will be left for others. That's right, people are worried that you'll remove too much trash from the beach. It's a silly idea to me because it's truly our trash but some believe that nonsense.
With that said, this article isn't about right or wrong and legal versus illegal. Consult a lawyer if you're interested in laws as this is not legal advice on what you can and cannot do. If you do take seaglass home at least be good about it. You don't need a five gallon bucket of the stuff even if you are turning that trash into beautiful jewelry.
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