ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT – Shop Member and Idea Village Village X Cohort Member, Franziska Trautmann, is the founder and CEO of Glass Half Full, a recycling company that converts glass back into sand for coastal restoration projects and disaster relief. The company was founded in 2020 when she was still a senior at Tulane University, and after 4 months here at The Shop under the mentorship of The Idea Village, last week she presented the final pitch for her company and won the grand prize as a part of the culmination of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW).

GHF collects glass waste and uses it for disaster relief, coastal restoration, construction, landscaping, and flooring. And now, instead of glass going to the landfill, they’re able to turn it into not only a usable product, but one that greatly benefits our community and economy. What started in a backyard is now a 40,000 square foot facility. They currently recycle over 100,000 pounds of glass every single month, and with this additional funding, those numbers are expected to grow exponentially, having a massive positive impact on our city.

The company’s mission and impact is three-fold:

(1) Divert glass waste from landfills, creating a circular economy of usable products that benefit our community and environment.
(2) Reinvest in Louisiana by producing sand critical to coastal restoration, disaster relief, eco-construction, and new glass products.
(3) Educate and engage New Orleanians to collectively address our state’s inadequate recycling system––Louisiana currently ranks 50th nationally for percentage of municipal waste recycled.

We are so proud of you Franziska and it’s been an honor to have you as a part of our community thus far. We’re looking forward to following Glass Half Full as you continue to grow, change lives, and change our local environment.

For more information on New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, click here.

For more information on Glass Half Full, click here.

For more information on The Idea Village, click here.

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