- 5 hours ago
Glass Half Full started in a backyard in 2020, and now it's Louisiana's biggest glass recycler — making crushed glass for recycled bottles and sand to rebuild the state's disappearing wetlands. We went inside the company's new-and-improved facility to see how this business has grown since BI's first visit in 2022.
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00:00This is the largest glass recycling
00:05in Louisiana, but just a few years ago,
00:08the state didn't recycle any of
00:10these bottles.
00:11Francisca Troutman decided to change that.
00:14Why?
00:15Don't we have glass recycling?
00:16How is this not a thing?
00:18She co-founded Glass Half Full
00:20in a backyard in 2020.
00:22And now we can pretty much process all the glass.
00:25The U.S. only recycles about 30% of the glass.
00:30It uses even though it's one of the most recyclable materials in the world.
00:35Francisca's team also makes glass sand to rebuild Louisiana's
00:40shrinking coastline.
00:41When you grow up in South Louisiana,
00:44our coastal erosion
00:45crisis is like the boogeyman.
00:47It's looming in the distance of this huge...
00:50scary thing that's happening to our state.
00:53But if glass is so versatile...
00:55Why does the U.S. recycle less than many other countries?
00:58And can businesses like this...
01:00make an impact?
01:03Fran's three-acre recycling...
01:05the plant lies just outside of New Orleans.
01:07It's more than three times the size of her old facility.
01:10which Business Insider visited in 2022.
01:13When we talked a couple years ago, there was...
01:15that mountain of glass that felt a little overwhelming at times.
01:18Like we could never keep up.
01:20Now, the team works through this glass pile in less than one day.
01:25About nine trucks arrive at this facility every weekday.
01:30We're carrying glass from homes and businesses up to 140 miles away.
01:35This hopper crushes it and drops it onto a conveyor belt.
01:40Where a worker picks out anything that isn't glass.
01:45So these are some of the things that have been picked out.
01:49Scissors...
01:50Tongs!
01:51Tongs!
01:52Tongs!
01:53Tongs!
01:54Tongs!
01:55Tongs!
01:55Tongs!
01:56Tongs!
01:57Tongs!
01:58Tongs!
01:59Tongs!
02:00Tongs!
02:01Tongs!
02:02Tongs!
02:03Tongs!
02:04Tongs!
02:05Tongs!
02:06Tongs!
02:07Tongs!
02:08Tongs!
02:09Tongs!
02:10Tongs!
02:11Tongs!
02:12Tongs!
02:13Tongs!
02:14Tongs!
02:15Tongs!
02:16Tongs!
02:17Tongs!
02:18Tongs!
02:19Tongs!
02:20Tongs!
02:21Tongs!
02:22Tongs!
02:23Tongs!
02:24Tongs!
02:00show that on the internet.
02:03The conveyor belt carries the material
02:05through multiple rounds of automated sorters.
02:08Optical sorters use high-speed
02:10cameras to separate glass by color
02:12and remove contaminants like label pieces.
02:15The glass that's not clear is sent out.
02:20Outside that we call gramber,
02:22so it's like green amber glass mixed.
02:25This crushed glass is called Cullit.
02:28It's broken into roughly two-inch pieces
02:30and sorted by color.
02:31It can be used to make new bottles,
02:33cutting down on the need for mind
02:35materials like silica and limestone.
02:38Clear glass Cullit is called flint.
02:40To be usable for new bottles,
02:42it has to be almost entirely clear.
02:44So it goes through
02:45color sorting twice.
02:46It's kind of called the flint cleanup system
02:49because that's our main...
02:50any pieces that are too...
02:55small to be Cullit go through a pulverizer,
02:57which crushes them into soft sand.
03:00The byproduct of making Cullit is fines.
03:03That's what the industry calls it.
03:05So they really go hand in hand
03:06and they work really well together
03:08in terms of the process.
03:09You could rub...
03:10put your hands against it.
03:11It's not going to cut your skin.
03:12It's 100% glass,
03:13but it is as powdery as any beach sand you can...
03:15find.
03:16A sifter catches any stray larger pieces,
03:18which go back through the process again.
03:20It's a big improvement on the tiny machine
03:23at Glass Half Full's old facility.
03:25Which was so small and slow,
03:27it held the whole plant back.
03:29It's nice.
03:30It was a certain day
03:31between this and our old facility.
03:33The team has finally collected enough...
03:35Cullit to fill one rail car.
03:36This load is off to Oklahoma.
03:38It didn't make sense to...
03:40truck that material,
03:41just economically and environmentally.
03:43And luckily we found...
03:45the partner that had rail access.
03:47It's final destination...
03:50is a bottle maker.
03:51Anchor glass container.
03:53Which takes in hundreds of thousands...
03:55of pounds of Cullit each day.
04:00Today, Fran is touring the facility for the first time.
04:04Is that a bottle?
04:05Oh yeah, so like there's still like a little bit of a barcode.
04:10kind of thing in there.
04:11It is.
04:12So it's been basically since we started.
04:14Five and a half years.
04:15of building up the glass recycling system...
04:17down in New Orleans...
04:18in order to make this work.
04:20Inside the plant, a 2800 degree furnace spits...
04:25out molten blobs of glass...
04:26called gobs.
04:27Shears automatically cut.
04:28Shears automatically cut.
04:30it to the exact same weight...
04:32every time.
04:33Oh, my favorite parts are the...
04:35glass...
04:36globs.
04:37Say that, Uber.
04:40The gobs.
04:41The molten glass gobs.
04:43Say that three times fast.
04:46The gobs travel to a row of molds...
04:48that press them into a bottle shape.
04:50Some of our machines will make as many as...
04:53300, 400...
04:55bottles a minute.
04:56The whole plant can make about 2 million glass containers...
05:00a day.
05:01The final bottles are made from about 20% color...
05:05an 80% new material.
05:07Using the recycled cullet...
05:08keeps glass out of landfills...
05:10and...
05:11saves energy.
05:12It melts so much quicker...
05:13and so much easier...
05:14than...
05:15using raw material at 100%.
05:18The plant runs 24 hours...
05:20a day...
05:21seven days a week...
05:22for years at a time.
05:23It only shuts down...
05:24when the furnace...
05:25as brick walls wear out...
05:26and need to be rebuilt...
05:27which happens...
05:28about every 15 years.
05:30Anchor glass makes beer...
05:31liquor...
05:32and soda bottles...
05:33for beverage companies...
05:34plus jars and other...
05:35containers...
05:36for things like salsa...
05:37and condiments.
05:38A conveyor belt...
05:39carries them through...
05:40what's called...
05:40an annealing layer...
05:41a long oven...
05:42that helps the bottles...
05:43cool down gradually...
05:44which...
05:45makes the glass...
05:46more durable.
05:47The other half...
05:48of the plant...
05:49is the cold end...
05:50a sprayer...
05:51applies a food-safe coating...
05:52which helps the bottles...
05:53move along the line...
05:54without scraping each other...
05:55cooled bottles...
05:57go through...
05:58quality inspection.
06:00before they're packed...
06:01onto pallets...
06:02and wrapped in plastic...
06:03for safe shipping.
06:04At the bottom...
06:05of bottles...
06:06you can see...
06:07who made it...
06:08so now...
06:09when I'm in New Orleans...
06:10I can like...
06:10on the shelves...
06:11and see...
06:12if there's any...
06:13anchor glass bottles...
06:14and then...
06:15maybe...
06:16my culet's in there.
06:15you never know.
06:17They mighty...
06:19They mighty...
06:20even end up...
06:21at the famous...
06:22Hotel Monteleone.
06:23It's landmark...
06:24carousel bar...
06:25has been a staple...
06:26in the French Quarter...
06:27for decades.
06:28The carousel bar...
06:29has been spinning...
06:30since 19...
06:301949.
06:31I think a lot...
06:32of people get a kick...
06:33out of the fact...
06:34that you'll start...
06:35in one place...
06:36and before you...
06:35know it...
06:36you're in a totally...
06:37different place.
06:38The hotel...
06:39is one of...
06:40Glass Half Full's...
06:41biggest...
06:40the pliers...
06:41of glass.
06:422024...
06:43alone...
06:44we went through...
06:45nearly half a million...
06:46pounds of glass...
06:47which is quite a bit.
06:48We're certainly...
06:49doing our...
06:50on our part...
06:51to...
06:52help the environment.
06:53Before they...
06:54partner...
06:55up...
06:56all the glass...
06:57went to a landfill.
06:58Now...
06:59the team...
07:00collects the glass...
07:00in these blue bins...
07:01filling up...
07:02about two of them...
07:03per day.
07:04I don't think...
07:05anybody...
07:05truly...
07:06comprehends...
07:07the amount of...
07:08garbage...
07:09and glassware...
07:10and other things...
07:10end up in landfills...
07:11until you...
07:12you know...
07:13start separating...
07:14and seeing...
07:15for yourself.
07:15the last half full...
07:16employee...
07:17picks up the bins...
07:18three times...
07:19per week.
07:20The local government...
07:20would offer glass pickup...
07:21partly because...
07:22there aren't enough...
07:23recyclers in the area...
07:24to send it to.
07:25the key is...
07:26collection.
07:27So for us...
07:28you know...
07:29we're only able to...
07:30collect...
07:30what we...
07:31physically collect...
07:32down in Louisiana...
07:33Mississippi...
07:34and Alabama.
07:35residents can drop off...
07:36their containers...
07:37at glass half full...
07:38for free...
07:39or they can pay...
07:40to have it...
07:40picked up.
07:41About 80%...
07:42of Americans...
07:43have access...
07:44to curbside recycling...
07:45at their homes.
07:46But...
07:47not all programs...
07:48take glass...
07:49because it's expensive...
07:50to transfer...
07:50to transport...
07:51and process.
07:52And...
07:53even in places...
07:54that do collect...
07:55glass...
07:56it's often mixed...
07:55with other materials.
07:56If it breaks...
07:57in these mixed bins...
07:58it's hard to separate out...
07:59and...
08:00it might be...
08:01too small...
08:02for recycling.
08:03Overall...
08:04the US glass recycling...
08:05rate is about...
08:0631%.
08:07And...
08:08the rest...
08:09mostly ends up...
08:10in landfills.
08:11But...
08:12states with deposit...
08:13programs...
08:14that pay people...
08:15to return glass containers...
08:15tend to have much higher rates, about 63%.
08:19Belgium, Slovenia, and
08:20Switzerland recycle over 90% of their glass, and they make companies that use
08:25glass containers pay a fee to cover the cost of recycling.
08:29Some countries
08:30simply wash and reuse glass containers, cutting back on the energy that goes into
08:33crushing and remelting
08:35them.
08:36But reuse works best when most bottles are similar to each other.
08:40Back at Glass Half Full, they get glass bottles and jars of all
08:45shapes and sizes.
08:46I'm amazed.
08:47I really am.
08:50You've got wine bottles and brands, and you've got blue bottles, stretchy, you've got dark
08:55blue bottles.
08:55Blue, pink.
08:56Fran says she's proud this mountain is shrinking.
09:01Since we started in 2020, the issue is always too much glass.
09:04The cool thing
09:05about this facility is that's no longer the issue.
09:08We've overbuilt it so that we have so much.
09:10room to grow because we know there's so much more glass to get.
09:14Right now, the facility
09:15only processes glass two or three days a week.
09:19That leaves them time to
09:20work on coastal restoration projects, where they're rebuilding land to protect
09:24communities from eroding
09:25erosion and flooding.
09:26They've already created two small islands in the bayou next to the plant.
09:30And are working on more.
09:31By building circular walls out of burlap and
09:35untreated wood.
09:36Then, they pump a slurry of sand and water into the middle of each.
09:41Some of the sand is their own recycled glass.
09:43While the rest is from the bottom of the Mississippi.
09:45River.
09:46The project, funded by the National Science Foundation, allows them to
09:50compare how native plants grow in each.
09:53These comparisons are...
09:55based on our preliminary studies in the greenhouse.
09:58So, we've sort of expanded.
10:00into the field.
10:01So, we've planted bulrush.
10:03We've planted maiden cane.
10:05We've planted willow trees.
10:07Cypress trees.
10:08On this island, we'll also add tupelo trees.
10:10And just, you know, all native wetland marsh species that...
10:15that were here at one point.
10:17And that we want to bring back to this area.
10:19And...
10:20Just a few months after building these islands, more plants and
10:23wildlife showed up.
10:25You can see behind me, the plants are already moving off the island,
10:29which is the goal.
10:30We put a trail cam on our islands project, and we saw just the coolest...
10:35stuff.
10:36Gators, tons of birds, so many different types of birds.
10:40We put a river otter on our islands.
10:43It took a poop.
10:45Wildlife like this can lose essential habitat when a large storm comes through,
10:49turning wetlands...
10:50into open water.
10:51Everyone feels powerless against it.
10:55Researchers estimate Louisiana has lost more than 2,000 square miles of coastal land since...
11:001932.
11:01There are many reasons why, including engineering decisions made more...
11:05than 100 years ago.
11:06Canals built for oil and gas exploration brought in...
11:10saltwater that destroyed freshwater ecosystems.
11:12On top of that, New Orleans is surrounded by...
11:15levees and dams built to keep water out.
11:17But they also keep out the sediment flows that...
11:20naturally replenish the land.
11:22So the coast keeps shrinking.
11:25We knew we could use sand locally for things like coastal restaurants.
11:30And, like, helping to restore and protect our beautiful state.
11:35Fran and a team of volunteers want to build the coastline back.
11:39Back in 20...
11:40In 2022, they partnered with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
11:45Together, they restored a wildlife refuge called Big Branch, which was hit hard by...
11:50Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
11:52These sacks from local coffee roasters are filled with...
11:5535 pounds of sand made from their crushed glass bottles.
11:58They layer the sandbags in a line...
12:00and plant bulrush shoots.
12:02The idea is that by the time the bags biodegrade, the plants...
12:05will take root...
12:06creating new land.
12:07The restoration team says they know this work alone...
12:10can't solve the state's enormous land loss problems.
12:13We hope to just be a small...
12:15part of the total solution to help bring back our wetlands and protect...
12:20our coast.
12:21More than three years later, this new land is still holding strength...
12:25strong.
12:26And satellite images show it continues to grow.
12:30It feels unbelievable, honestly, like going back to places that were open...
12:35water and are now filled in marsh.
12:37To see a crab and be like...
12:40yo...
12:41I helped bring back this place that you're now like molting in...
12:45they never would have been able to do that...
12:47and they're just chillin'.
12:49They have no idea.
12:51They have no idea.
12:52And even maybe little as the경ics were сок buying.
12:53I hope each other is good, guys.
12:54And I hope you know, that Becca's like...
12:55you know.
12:56It's such a great rest...
12:57I don't think he's dying today, I agree.
12:58A lot of our
12:55My bedroom is just filled with sand, my bedsheets always have, it's like
13:00the whole room is sandpaper at this point. It's like a beach house, exactly, it's perfect.
13:04Not only are you drinking
13:05you're going to have fun but you're also helping save the city.
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