GNO, Inc. Sunday Night Highlight – Pioneering “Glass to Grass”

Founded in 2020 by Tulane University students Franziska Trautmann and Max Steitz, Glass Half Full has grown from a grassroots project into a globally recognized environmental startup, and is now the nation’s first company to turn recycled glass into coastal restoration material. Glass Half Full has now opened a state-of-the-art, three-acre facility in Chalmette, in St. Bernard Parish. The site will process over 300,000 pounds of glass daily, turning a former landfill site into a place of productive remediation.

In 2021, Glass Half Full won the Startup St. Bernard pitch competition, receiving $100K+ in funding and services to plant roots locally. In just four years, they’ve diverted over 10 million bottles from landfills in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Their innovative recycled glass sand is already being used for coastal restoration projects, including Bayou Bienvenue, where it’s helping reduce storm surge and restore habitat.

The Glass Half Full project is the result of local partnerships, including the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation, Meraux Foundation, Benson Capital Partners, and AMCREF Community Capital. In collaboration with Tulane University and the National Science Foundation, Glass Half Full is part of a $5.7M research project exploring the safety and scalability of recycled glass sand for coastlines worldwide.

The facility will be constructed by local firm RNGD (pronounced Renegade). The RNGD building and steel teams collaborated on the construction of the facility, which is a pre-engineered metal building (PEMB) assembled from prefabricated steel components designed, engineered, and manufactured by RNGD’s building manufacturing partner, NUCOR Building Systems. The building’s interior design features custom terrazzo flooring, supplied by Terrazzo Masters, that integrates polished recycled material produced by Glass Half Full.

“Our new facility underscores our commitment to amplifying the recycling infrastructure and sustainable practices across the Gulf South,” said Franziska Trautmann. “Not only does it help advance our work in addressing the region’s coastal erosion crisis, but it also lays a strong foundation for creating jobs and economic opportunity.”

You can read more here.