When discussing environmental issues and the many ways in which humans are depleting earth’s natural resources, sand usually doesn’t get brought up. It certainly doesn’t seem to be a scarce commodity considering it can be found in deserts and beaches all over the world. We are, however, in a global sand shortage, and Franziska, known as @ecofran on TikTok, found a way to use a grassroots recycling movement to help restore Louisiana’s coastline and address the lack of comprehensive glass recycling in New Orleans.
Many people are not aware of their recycling rules and this can cause countless recyclable materials to be dumped into landfills. For instance, if a person puts glass in their recycling in New Orleans, the rest of the otherwise eligible recycling will be sent to landfill. In creating a system where people in the surrounding area can send their glass to Glass Half Full NOLA, Franziska has provided greater transparency in the recycling process and an alternative that will also keep more of the other recyclables out of landfills.
The insight came to her and her partner over a bottle of wine. Without major glass manufacturers to sell the recycled glass back to, there is not much of a profitable reason for companies to do large-scale glass recycling in that area. Knowing the bottle they were using would ultimately make its way to a landfill, they expressed frustration with the current system and the lack of glass recycling in the city. They experienced motivation to improve recycling in the area and came to the conclusion that a glass-to-sand recycling program would simultaneously address two separate issues that New Orleans was facing.
Creating sand out of recycled glass has the potential to completely change the game when it comes to the sand shortage. Normally, restoration would consist of extracting the sand necessary for the coast from the bottom of waterways, which is not only more expensive than using recycled glass but also more harmful to ecosystems that would be disrupted because of these actions. Franziska’s creativity can alter the future of recycling and sand restoration. It could have major impacts on coastlines all over the world and extends far beyond the possibilities for improvement in Louisiana, which is the point of interest for this New Orleans based company.
Sharing the process of building her company from the ground up on social media has the potential to both make people more aware of the environmental impacts of sand exploitation and provide a viable solution that can aid in the effort to combat this issue. Although a lot of the possible steps that can be taken to mitigate the environmental impacts of humans are too big or intimidating for people to take on alone, Glass Half Full NOLA proves that a collective of dedicated people backed by their community can make a real difference, and maybe even inspire others along the way.
https://www.tiktok.com/@ecofran?lang=en
Hi Jackie, I really enjoyed reading this post and learning more about @ecofran and her work in environmental advocacy through raising awareness about sand exploitation. This was a particular issue that I was unaware about and I look forward to watching her videos on TikTok. After reading your post, I am interested in learning more about glass-to-sand recycling - a creative solution to a relevant environmental problem that seems to be an example of divergent thinking.
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