Pulverized Recycled Glass Sand, A Key To Vibrant Soil?

Cities, A Soil Problem

Cities, like Philadelphia, have lost much of the organic matter — minerals, sand, and clay — that create a vibrant natural soil. “Instead, underneath our feet is lots of “rubble, debris, and the history of the city,” said Daniel Flinchbaugh, assistant landscape planner at the University of Pennsylvania.

Vibrant Soil Project

Last Fall, the University of Pennsylvania, Bennett Compost, and Remark Glass created a soil replacement mix that utilized a unique resource: pulverized recycled glass sand.

In 2021, Remark Glass began collaborating with architecture firm OLIN Labs to create a “waste-based” soil mixture made with the pulverized recycled glass sand produced by their sister company, Bottle Underground. The results of that collaboration inspired the Penn study.

For this project, the Olin soil blend was added to Bennett’s compost, which is made from food waste at Penn, and a type of carbon-rich charcoal known as biochar.

So far, thirteen trees have been planted on the school’s campus using this growing medium. The Morris Arboretum Urban Forestry, Craul Land Scientists, and BrightView Landscape Contractors contributed to research for the vibrant soil mixture.

Remark Glass and Bottle Underground

Remark Glass was established as a glassblowing and design company creating small-batch home accessories from post-consumer bottle glass. Intent on building a more sustainable art form and manufacturing practice, they committed to simultaneously reducing glass waste at the local level. This created a sister company, Bottle Underground, where their Andela GP-MegaMini Pulverizer lives. With it, they process about 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of glass per month, through a community drop-off program and a small collections route.

Click to read the Philly Voice article.

 

Learn more about the Andela GP-MegaMini Pulverizer