Hey everyone! I'm a newbie to gardening and I have a bit of a concern. I just got 7 trailer loads of soil for my backyard renovation, which my kids are super excited about. However, while leveling it out, I've discovered some shiny pieces in the soil, and I've already filled two coffee mugs with broken glass! They vary in thickness from thin shards to thick pieces. I've only worked on a small area so far, and I'm worried about this. The place I bought the soil from is reputable and not cheap, so I'm wondering if it's normal to find glass in soil or if I should reach out to them about this issue. Any expert advice would be greatly appreciated!
3 Answers
Yup, this kind of stuff happens, unfortunately. I’ve dealt with glass and plastic pieces in municipal compost, too. The contamination can happen from people improperly discarding waste. If you’re concerned about quality, you might want to seek vendors that specifically test their compost for contaminants.
It's not uncommon to find bits of glass in cheaper topsoil, but it's definitely concerning when they're sharp pieces. I use a screening method whenever I get new soil to avoid any nasty surprises. You can easily make a screen with some wood and hardware cloth to sift it out before it even goes into your garden.
It seems like finding glass bits might be more common than you'd think, especially with large-scale composting operations that can mix in all sorts of trash. As frustrating as it is, if they’re just small bits and not sharp, they can sometimes be worn down enough to be harmless. But if they’re sharp shards, you should definitely contact the soil vendor with photos of what you’ve found.