Two students turned wine bottles into a coast that's disappearing

Two Tulane University seniors sharing a bottle of wine in 2020 realized that New Orleans, a city famous for its bars and breweries, had no way to recycle glass. Every empty bottle went to a landfill, and a single one in a recycling bin could get the whole thing rejected. Franziska Trautmann and Max Steitz decided to fix it. They started Glass Half Full in a fraternity backyard with a machine that crushed one bottle at a time. Donations poured in from residents who had been quietly hoarding their empties for years. The operation now processes thousands of bottles a day, grinding them into fine sand. After researchers confirmed the material was safe, the company began using it to rebuild the wetlands and barrier islands protecting Louisiana's eroding coast, including projects with the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe. The company has diverted millions of pounds of glass from landfills, giving a disappearing shoreline something to hold onto.