{"id":5598,"date":"2025-05-14T12:49:38","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T12:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/?p=5598"},"modified":"2025-05-14T13:55:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T13:55:26","slug":"americas-first-glass-recycling-company-for-coastal-restoration-opens-new-facility-in-st-bernard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/americas-first-glass-recycling-company-for-coastal-restoration-opens-new-facility-in-st-bernard\/","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s First Glass Recycling Company for Coastal Restoration Opens New Facility in St. Bernard"},"content":{"rendered":"

From left to right: Patrice Cusimano, St. Bernard Parish Councilmember, Dist. A; Cindi Meyer, St. Bernard Parish Councilmember, Dist. C; Franziska Trautmann, Co-Founder & CEO, Glass Half Full; Max Steitz, Co-Founder & COO\/CFO, Glass Half Full; Meaghan McCormack, CEO, St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation; Amanda Mones, St. Bernard Parish Councilmember, Dist. E; Josh Moran, St. Bernard Parish Councilmember, Dist. B; Ryan Randall, St. Bernard Parish Councilmember, Dist. D<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Glass Half Full drives economic growth, job creation and environmental innovation by transforming waste into a sustainable resource<\/em><\/p>\n

BERNARD PARISH, LA<\/strong> \u2013 St. Bernard Parish just became the epicenter of glass recycling innovation in the United States. Glass Half Full, the nation\u2019s first company to turn recycled glass into coastal restoration materials, has officially opened a cutting-edge, three-acre facility in Chalmette, bringing with it new jobs, private investment, and global recognition. Located on a transformed landfill site along the strategic Paris Road corridor, the facility will process over 300,000 pounds of glass per day and serve as a powerful example of industrial redevelopment in a community on the rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlass Half Full\u2019s new home in St. Bernard shows the world what\u2019s possible when bold ideas meet the right environment for growth,\u201d said Meaghan McCormack, chief executive officer of St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation (SBEDF). \u201cThis is not just a win for economic development, it\u2019s a win for our coast, our community and the country \u2014 and a clear signal that St. Bernard is open for business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Launched in 2020 by two Tulane University students, Franziska Trautmann and Max Steitz, Glass Half Full started as a backyard operation with big dreams: diverting glass from landfills and repurposing it to combat coastal erosion in Louisiana. In 2021, the startup won SBEDF\u2019s Startup St. Bernard pitch competition and was awarded over $100,000 in funding and services. In return, Glass Half Full officially committed to planting roots in the parish.<\/p>\n

With strong local backing and multimillion-dollar financial support from Benson Capital Partners and the Meraux Foundation, the new facility is a testament to the parish\u2019s ability to invest in next-generation businesses. In 2021, the National Science Foundation (NSF) also awarded Glass Half Full a $700,000 Convergence Accelerator grant to bring together university researchers from the fields of chemical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, river and coastal engineering, and ecology and evolutionary biology to identify new markets for recycled glass products, determine where recycled glass sand should be used to prevent coastal land loss and ensure that recycled glass sand is safe to use in coastal environments. NSF also awarded Tulane University\u00a0$5.7 million over 3 years to complete the research on coastal restoration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where our mission becomes reality,\u201d said Franziska Trautmann, co-founder and chief executive officer. \u201cThanks to the belief and investment of our partners, especially SBEDF, the Meraux Foundation, and Mrs. Benson, we are creating jobs and reshaping how communities think about waste, resilience and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to its processing operations, Glass Half Full has completed two coastal restoration projects in Bayou Bienvenue directly adjacent to the St. Bernard site. The restored marshland project compares the lasting effects of dredged river sand, which was used to build one of the islands, to the recycled glass sand used to create the other island. This pilot project is a blueprint for coastal restoration around the globe. Locally, the islands are already having an impact, reducing storm surge and restoring habitat and wildlife.<\/p>\n

Currently, Glass Half Full recycles glass waste from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama \u2013 with over 10 million glass bottles saved from landfills to date. As more glass is recycled, Glass Half Full is able to produce more sand and rebuild miles of Louisiana\u2019s beautiful coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Media Contact<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meaghan McCormack<\/p>\n

contact@sbedf.org<\/a><\/p>\n

(504) 277-4009<\/p>\n

About the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation
\n<\/strong>The St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation<\/a> (SBEDF) is the official economic development organization and public-private partnership of St. Bernard Parish formed to create and retain jobs, build prosperity, and improve quality of life. To learn more about SBEDF and how the organization works to foster business attraction, retention and expansion, neighborhood revitalization, small business assistance, and talent and workforce development in St. Bernard Parish, visit sbedf.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About Glass Half Full
\n<\/strong>Glass Half Full<\/a> is a New Orleans-based recycling company turning glass waste into usable sand for disaster relief, eco-construction, and coastal restoration. Since its founding in 2020, the company has been at the forefront of sustainability innovation in the Gulf South. For more information, visit glasshalffull.co<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post America\u2019s First Glass Recycling Company for Coastal Restoration Opens New Facility in St. Bernard<\/a> first appeared on Informed Infrastructure<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From left to right: Patrice Cusimano, St. Bernard Parish Councilmember, Dist. A; Cindi Meyer, St. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5598"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5598"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5599,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5598\/revisions\/5599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mywatchseries.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}