In the United States, most glass enters single-stream recycling. Mixed with paper, plastics, and food waste, glass breaks in transit, becomes contaminated, its quality degrading below required standards for reuse as part of new containers.
By the time it reaches a material recovery facility, much of it is no longer usable at all —or at best is downcycled.
This is the system we are disrupting.
Capture glass before it breaks or becomes contaminated
Separate glass at the source
Process locally
Preserve manufacturing-grade quality
Enable reuse before recycling
The impact of today’s system is measurable. The U.S. recycles only about one-third of its glass, sending millions of tons to landfills each year—while European countries regularly exceed 80% recycling rates by relying on source separation and dedicated glass infrastructure.
In the U.S., most “recycled” glass is broken, contaminated, or discarded before it can even be crushed into cullet.
Our mission is to help transform glass recycling and reuse in the United States by building scalable systems—and shared understanding—that keep glass in circulation and out of landfills.
Upstream collection
Local processing
Reuse-first system design
Education-driven behavior change
Rather than fixing broken glass downstream, we work with households and businesses to separate glass into its own stream from the start. Disciplined, systematic separation enables clean, reliable feedstock suitable for high-quality recycling and reuse.
That upstream shift changes everything: it replaces a disposal-driven system with a manufacturing-grade supply chain for glass.
School partnerships
Municipal partnerships
Community workshops
Digital campaigns
Local ambassadors
Local, LEED-certified processing facilities
Reduced transport emissions
Regional manufacturing support
Local job creation
Local job creation
Because glass is heavy and costly to transport, the most effective systems are inherently local. Processing glass near where it is used and collected keeps material value in the community, supports regional manufacturing, and creates durable local jobs—while avoiding the emissions and costs of long-distance hauling.
Reuse comes first, extending the life of bottles and containers and reducing the need for energy-intensive remelting.
Recycling follows, producing high-quality cullet suitable for container-to-container glass manufacturing. Both depend on one essential principle: glass that is separated, protected, and treated as a resource.
Education enables both.
