Easy Way to Pick Up Shattered Glass in Grass

During the crazy floods on Loch Erne a few months ago, the lake level rose around 8 ft. That wasn't enough to affect the living area of TSC Island as the house is on stilts, but the whole workshop (and lawnmower, chainsaws, generator, etc) and under the house was underwater for about a month. It reached the 4th stair on the way up to the living bit.
Engines I can fix or replace, but the main problem is that there were a load of old wooden-framed windows stored under the house. They floated round the lawn, smashed all over the place, then the water retreated leaving tiny bits of broken glass everywhere.

Can't have that as we lie on the lawn, kiddies (and dogs!) brought over run around barefoot, etc.
It's going to need to be gone before the grass really starts growing. My only thoughts were either hire a turf cutter machine, roll up the turf and dump it, then re-seed, or a rotavator to turn over the soil and then re-seed.
Any less invasive ideas?
Bear in mind this is an island on a lake, the lawns are maybe 1/2 an acre, so I can't just get a load of topsoil delivered and dumped on top. No tractor, nothing, even the lawnmower will be dead.
Al thoughts are welcome...

Last edited: Mar 10, 2010
i'd have thought a rotavator is just going to make the glass into smaller shards and spread it around, glass stays sharp for ages when it's buried so covering it over won't really do it, also it could work it's way to the surface.
unless you can hire some kind of industrial vacuum machine, maybe the turf cutter is the only way to be sure.
how big are the pieces? will one of those hovermover/leaf sucker etc suck them up?
Matt82 Forum Addict

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Jaundice Forum Member

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the lawn mower is probably the best bet, altho im glad its not my garden
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if you use the lawn mower, dont use youre best flip flops.
The lawnmower is just going to break it up into smaller, sharper shards. I see what you mean about the rotavator Alexisblades, there is a roller up there too so I was thinking if I rolled it afterwards to compact it then maybe the new grass would hold the glass underground, but I don't know... and don't want to be doing it twice. Maybe the turf cutter is the only answer, unless anyone else has any clever ideas?
Everything from half panes down to bits about half an inch in size! I wouldn't think a leaf sucker would have the power to suck them up, either.
i did litterpicking after glastonbury festival once, the one thing they were extra-anal about was broken glass because of the cows. hands and knees, every last tiny bit visible had to be picked up. what you can't see will erode and grow over. so if it's practical pick all the visible bits up by hand first.
after that's done, rotavating might work - it'll grind the weeny bits of glass down as it works them into the earth, also statistically less will be on the surface? otherwise a give it a good hard mowing followed by raking then maybe vacuuming.
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I think the only way you will get it sorted is to pick it up carefully and if need be, dig a deep hole and bury it if you can't dispose of it any other way or chuck it in the river. If glass gets buried it will resurface in hot weather. Nasty horrible dangerous stuff, thanks to glass I have a leg tendon in my hand.
What about using one of those motorised rake/scarifier things, the ones that remove moss.
Like this...
http://www.cphire.com/index.php?type=2&groupid=8

About half-way down, 26 per day.

Last edited: Mar 12, 2010
Aye, I thought about that but it'd just let all the small bits slip through the tines. Thinking of using a cylinder mower to really scalp the grass and dump the grass and glass in the lake, then going over it again with the mower set so low it actually brings it back to virtually bare earth. Then out that night with a torch to look for shiny bits.
But I think the real answer is the turf cutter...
They spin pretty quickly, I was thinking they would flick the bits into the collector. Seems a shame to have to rebuild the lawn.
Turf cutter while it's wet, you can take just enough off to keep the strips together and not lose too much soil. I had one to sort the front garden out and with a bit of faffing you can get the blades to just cut the bare minimum off.
Then any bits of glass will show up on the bare soil a lot easier.

Dump the soil in the lake.
you think TSC has a collector on his mower?
The soil is going in the lake upstream from my place - the dock is already full of floating junk. Stone in the middle of each roll, it'll just sink. There are cattle on a nearby field though, they'll trample it into a mucky mess. But I think I'll put up a salt lick if I'm going to rip up all the turf. That way I can shoot deer without even getting out of my sleeping bag.
I have no idea, but I know scarifiers do.