Founded in 2020 to address a lack of local glass recycling, New Orleans-based Glass Half Full converts post-consumer glass into sand and gravel for coastal restoration and disaster relief across the Gulf South. Operating a large-scale processing facility, the company transforms millions of pounds of waste into materials that protect Louisiana’s coastline.
Franzinska Taurtman
Franziska, a Carencro, Louisiana native, graduated in 2020 with her degree in chemical engineering from Tulane University. This gave her the skills necessary to help lead “ReCoast,” a research team backed by the National Science Foundation, conducting novel research on the use of recycled glass sand for coastal restoration. Their team has now completed five coastal restoration projects, restoring thousands of meters of coastline and counting. In her spare time, Franziska makes educational TikToks ranging from recycling to climate change to wastewater treatment. Her page has garnered over 300,000 followers and millions of views.
