New York is building a bridge with recycled glass: $21.2 million project to divert 106 tons of glass from landfills and prevent over 72 tons of CO2 emissions

As the world grapples with mounting waste and rising carbon emissions, a bridge project in New York is offering an unusual example of how something destined for a landfill can be given a second life. In June 2024, construction began on a $21.2 million project in the Village of Whitney Point, where New York is replacing an ageing bridge over the Tioughnioga River and incorporating recycled glass into concrete used for parts of the new infrastructure. The pilot project is expected to divert 106 tons of waste glass from local landfills and prevent more than 72 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.The project is part of a broader push towards a circular economy, in which materials traditionally treated as waste are recovered and reused rather than discarded.Turning waste glass into a cement alternativeThe idea behind the project comes from KLAW Industries, a New York-based company founded in 2019 by Binghamton University engineering students Jacob Kumpon and Jack Lamuraglia. The founders saw two problems that could potentially be addressed together: the enormous amount of glass entering the US waste stream and the carbon-intensive nature of cement production.The US produces an estimated 12...