Our Story
Franziska Trautmann and Max Steitz, Co-founders
Like most good things, it started with a bottle of wine…
As seniors at Tulane University in 2020, we were disappointed and frustrated with the lack of glass recycling in New Orleans. One night, over a bottle of wine that we knew would end up at the landfill unless we did something about it, we hatched a plan to combat this problem. Specifically, we wanted a system that was transparent, accessible, and most importantly, actually recycled glass into something functional. Instead of trying to take on the task of reforming the current system, we decided to look at the ‘glass half full’ by implementing our own grassroots glass recycling program.
We launched Glass Half Full in a backyard…
where we began collecting and hand-crushing our friends’ glass with no real expectation for what this project would become. As word spread, participation and support grew, and soon we obtained the resources to move to a location uptown. After quickly running out of storage space (a good problem to have, in our opinion!), our supporters rallied to help us expand into a new processing facility on Louisa St, where we would have the ability to scale up our operations and accept more glass. From there, it was history– we are now backed by a growing team of staff, volunteers, and community members who pitch in daily to divert tens of thousands of pounds of glass each week from landfills across the Gulf South.
We are beyond grateful…
to the New Orleans community for the way it has wholeheartedly embraced this project, enabling it to grow more than we could have possibly imagined in just a short period of time. With your support, we hope to continue expanding our initiative to better meet the Gulf South region’s vast glass recycling demands and use the sand we produce to benefit our environment and community.