Sand, We Take It For Granted,

but it is the most-extracted and second most-used resource in the world,

and there is a shortage of it, the Louisiana coastline has undergone significant erosion in the last century and trying to find enough sand is a problem, the world is simultaneously experiencing a massive shortage of the material, above restoration efforts with bags of recycled sand,

Glass Half Full, one of the largest recyclers of the material in Louisiana, is working toward this goal by turning bottles and other waste back into their original, granular form,

on a visit from Business Insider, Franziska Trautmann and Max Steitz, who co-founded the organization while in college, tour the facility that already processes an astounding 16 metric tons of glass per week,

the substance is crushed and sorted into gravel-sized chunks, a fine powdery material, and a coarse grind, the latter of which is shipped to wetlands and habitats for use in restoration efforts. Thanks to a National Science Foundation, Glass Half Full even collaborated with Tulane University scientists to ensure that the reused material doesn’t leach harmful chemicals into the water and can sustain plant life,

Since launching in 2020, the organization has recycled more than two million pounds of waste, and you can find more about its work on its site, it seems amazing when you consider the size of say the Sahara and Gobi deserts, that there is a sand shortage, but there it is.