When Franziska Trautmann co-founded glass recycler Glass Half Full with her Tulane University friend Max Steitz in 2020, the pair found a greater demand for glass than they could handle working out of their backyard operation.
“We knew that would happen,” Trautmann said. “And then when we moved to our small warehouse and where we are now, which is 40,000 square feet, it felt like there was always more demand and more glass than we could handle and process.”
That should change soon as Glass Half Full is planning to build a new facility in Chalmette, LA. The new $6.5 million, three-acre facility will be able to process hundreds of millions of pounds of glass annually.
“The warehouse is about 15,000 square feet but there’s a lot of outdoor space for the glass bunkers and storage and our trucks and machinery,” Trautmann said. “The goal is to invest in bigger machinery that’s capable of processing a larger amount of glass. We’re currently doing 300,000 pounds a month and this will allow us to process 300,000 pounds a day.”
According to Trautmann, the plan to build the facility has been in the works for several years. The funding was the biggest hurdle. But through grants and loans from Benson Capital Partners, the Meraux Foundation, and AMCREF Community Capital, Glass Half Full was able to move forward with the plan and broke ground this summer.
The new facility will be based in the New Orleans area and will service Louisiana, Mississippi, and southern Alabama. The company also opened a location in Birmingham, AL with the plan to service northern Alabama and the next ideal expansion is the Florida panhandle.
“People in the glass industry have always been asking what Glass Half Full was up to; I feel that building this facility really legitimizes the work that we’re doing here,” Trautmann said.
They wanted to turn recycled glass into a product that was functional and could improve the lives of local communities in its second life. Sand proved to be that product.
Glass Half Full operates a free glass drop-off hub in New Orleans’ Gentilly neighborhood. Residents of any New Orleans parish are allowed to bring glass there; businesses must sign up for commercial pickup or drop-off.
The company also offers a door-to-door collection service for Orleans and Jefferson Parish residents. The company’s sand products are used for coastal restoration projects, disaster relief efforts, eco-construction, and new glass products.
“We’re excited for what the future holds and to bolster up recycling in the southeast,” Trautmann said.
Photos courtesy of Glass Half Full.
