Sort of Like gathering shells or stones, collecting sea glass is considered a hobby to many avid beach-goers, and people like to make jewelry out of their finds or simply keep them in a decorative jar.  Dedicated hobbyist will keep the found treasure and attempt to find its origin of the Sea Glass treasure.

Sea glass has been found all over the world, however the most well known beaches to discover Sea Glass seems to be the beaches of the Northeast United States, Mexico,Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Maine, Nova Scotia, The Chesapeake Bay, California, and Southern Spain. The best times to look are during spring tides and perigean and proxigean tides, or during the first low tide after a storm.

To answer your question, I believe “Beach glass” is what people refer to the glass that is found on Lakes, like the Great Lakes, and it is very similar to sea glass. However, this glass is weathered by sand and tidal action and not by the saline waters where sea glass is found.