Glass recycling center partners with Tulane to build islands for coastal project at Bayou Bienvenue

CHALMETTE, La. (WVUE) - A spot off the beaten path along Bayou Bienvenue in St. Bernard Parish will soon be the site of two new sand islands.

One will be made of natural sand, while the other will be made of finely ground recycled glass.

About two dozen Tulane graduate students and undergrads met Saturday (March 9) off of Paris Road to begin this coastal project more than two years in the making.

Fox 8 first reported on Orleans Parish’s only glass recycling center -- Glass Half Full -- in 2021.

It’s an idea that came to life for Franziska Trautman when she was a Tulane undergrad.

“It’s really rewarding for all of us to be out here, because we’ve done so much research in labs and in aquaria and now it’s translated to the field,” Trautman said.

“We get to really get dirty and see how it does out here and evaluate the differences between our sand and native sediment and really start to see those changes.”

Elizabeth MacDougal, a Ph.D. candidate at Tulane studying wetland microbial ecology, said, “So today, out here, we are moving a bunch of sand that’s made out of glass -- recycled -- and the goal is to build two different islands.”

“We are planning on planting those islands with different species that will grow and help secure them. And the overall goal is to demonstrate the use of recycled glass in restoring degraded habitats.”

Associate professor Dr. Julie Albert says the purpose of the islands is to help grow new vegetation and hopefully reintroduce bald cypress trees, which have been lost from the coastal area of St. Bernard since Hurricane Katrina.

“Since that time, with rainfall and other tidal flows and everything, the salinity is back to an appropriate level for growth of bald cypress, but the water is too deep,” Albert said. “Which is why we are building islands.”

Once the islands are built, they’ll be studied closely to see the effects the recycled glass can have on this dwindling eco-system.

Trautman says these glass islands serve as motivation to keep going with her mission.

“We actually plan to build a new Glass Half Full facility right here, off of Paris road,” Trautman said. “I hope it perks people’s ears up. It’s something that is crucial to our livelihood here in Louisiana.”

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