Abstract: Waste glass containing three-dimensional extraneous matter to be removed is dropped onto a grizzly and is thereby broken up by gravity and separated into an undersize portion containing planar fragments of waste glass and of extraneous matter and an oversize portion containing three-dimensional large pieces of waste glass and unbreakable extraneous matter, the grizzly comprising parallel bars arranged at a spacing smaller than the minimum width of projection of the three-dimensional extraneous matter. The oversize portion is repeatedly subjected to the same procedure as above to break up the waste glass to an undersize material within a specified range of sizes and to remove the three-dimensional extraneous matter from the waste glass. A breaking and separating apparatus comprises grizzlies arranged in multi-stage fashion within a passage for dropping the waste glass or a rotatable drum-shaped grizzly having scraping plates.

Abstract: Water is supplied to an inclined drum having a helical wall on its inner peripheral surface to cause the water to flow over the helical wall and also on the inner peripheral surface of the drum and to thereby form a flow of water running from the upper end of the drum to its lower end. Waste glass is fed to the drum while the drum is rotated at a high speed. During falling of the waste glass onto the flow of water, during settling of the waste glass in the water flow while it is being sent toward the drum upper end by the helical wall, and while the settled waste glass is maintained by the high-speed rotation of the drum in a suspension-resembling state in which pieces of the waste glass are dispersible and in rocking motion circumferentially of the drum, extraneous matter is forced toward the drum lower end and run off therefrom due to its resistance per unit weight thereof to the flow of water which resistance is greater than that of the waste glass.