The snow is crushed porcelain, glass glitter or plastic. Less expensive snow globes tend to be constructed from plastic, and the dome can be a number of different shapes.

When New York City was hit with a snow squall a few weeks ago, Albert Hei, 29, took refuge in an igloo.. Well, a fake one, with modern accouterments. The plastic dome had been installed on the ...

The artists Beverly Barkat and Germane Barnes play with discarded plastic — including bottles, cups and printer cartridges — to explore the possibilities of reinventing waste.