I seem to recall that this type of glass first appeared in a big way during the 80s with a huge fanfare about them being recycled. A lot of glass industry in many countries around the world have been set up to utilise recycled glass as their only raw material. Which is probably a good thing. You can also find recycled glass products that are as clear as a bell, through careful sorting of the raw material. The chunky style was just fashionable at the time and I guess some of those companies still continue to churn out the same style. It would be interesting to put together a collection of recycled glass and find out about the companies that do this type of work. Certainly a cultural icon of the late 20th century in political terms if not always in aesthetics.