The only province in Canada without a dedicated glass recycling program is Newfoundland and Labrador. Household glass that is not re-used goes to the landfill creating glass waste, a huge environmental challenge.
Enter the NewfoundSand Glass Recycling Co-operative created by community members who know there’s a valuable resource in every bottle and jar that can be recycled into reusable sand, thereby reducing waste and promoting sustainability.
The co-op holds collection events where members can bring clean glass jars and bottles and feed them into a special machine that crushes the glass into sand. The processed sand can be used by members for building, landscaping, gardening, construction, arts and crafts, beach volleyball courts and more!
At its core, this co-op is about more than just glass. It’s about education, community, and co-operative values. It’s showing that recycling can truly create new products and demonstrating how co-operatives can succeed where profit-driven models fall short.
Dave Saunders, founding member and board president, says the goal is to scale up glass recycling services beyond the St. John’s and Mount Pearl region to the Avalon Peninsula, then across the province. It’s not an easy journey, but the hope is that through greater awareness and the determination of more than 150 members, the co-op will succeed while protecting the environment, creating good jobs and strengthening local economies.
