Glass sand for clean water

On Maui, Hawai’i, discarded glass is beginning to be diverted to upcycle glass and reduce export of glass to the U.S. West Coast for recycling. Instead, we are recycling glass right here in Hawai’i and turning collected bottles and other materials into valuable glass sand.

With the Andela GP-Mega Mini, we are upcycling bottles into crushed glass for use as aerobic treatment media in our Bioreactor Gardens and incorporating into vegetated leach fields.

The Bioreactor Gardens upgrade substandard water treatment systems, like cesspools and stand alone septic systems, and produce highly clean water. The Bioreactor Garden treated water exceeds all standards for pollutant and nutrient reduction AND removes contaminants of emerging concern like pharmaceuticals (nearly 100% antibiotic reductions)!

Given the large number of cesspool conversions (over 88,000) being mandated by Maui’s Act 125, being able to sustainably source enough glass sand for building the filtration systems is key. This supports conservation of materials, lowers the carbon footprint of the glass, and produces high-quality filtration media without harvesting or shipping any sand.

We have also identified alternative uses such as irrigation filtration, pool filters, construction aggregate additives, as well additional viable product streams. These uses avoid importing sand from Canada and other sources. These imported products are expensive and carbon-intensive. Upcycling glass right here in Maui enables greater reuse of glass on-island and create circular economies.

This whole effort is focused on protecting drinking water, coral reefs and ensuring healthy water for swimming, surfing and other water based activities.  

Recycling glass sand helps make clean water!