Many products used in everyday life are made from sand. Different kinds of sand are used for varying industrial purposes. For example, sand used for cement and concrete can be very different in physical and chemical composition than sand used in the making of fiberglass, or container glass. Sand has a significant value to society. Children play in it, vacationers relax on it, and the general population relies on products made or derived from it.
Many people see sand as readily available and relatively simple to find.
However, this is not always true. It takes time and money to develop a deposit to produce sand products to be used for construction and industrial uses. Without certain types of sand, countries would not have glass products, iron and steel components for cars and trucks, steel structures, and concrete and asphalt for roads, bridges and houses. Sand and gravel are sometimes dug up from under water in an excavation called a pit. A dredge is commonly used.