November

This month, my last Miracle League game was canceled due to the weather. I was a bit bummed because, during the final game, they give all the children trophies, which is always fun. Instead, for this month, I went to volunteer at Glass Half Full. Glass Half Full was started by two Tulane alumni who were disappointed with the lack of glass recycling in New Orleans. They started out by collecting and hand-crushing their friends' glass. Word quickly spread of what they were doing, and they expanded into a new processing facility in New Orleans East, where they now can accept more glass. Today, they have a growing team of staff, volunteers, and community members who help to divert tens of thousands of pounds of glass from NOLA's landfills every single week. They ultimately convert the glass into sand products ranging from super soft, beach-like sand to glass gravel. The final products are used for coastal restoration projects, disaster relief efforts, eco-construction, new glass products, and so much more. 

Glass Half Full's mission has always been significant to me because, when I moved to New Orleans for school, I was also appalled by the lack of glass recycling here. Additionally, their goal to use the recycled glass as sand to rebuild entire coastlines, is very impactful to me, as I am passionate about the environment, especially environmental issues that directly impact the city in which I live. Louisiana has lost a quarter of its wetlands since the 1930s as a result of flood control structures designed to protect communities and businesses from flooding. Sand is a crucial tool for rebuilding the barrier islands and sandbars that protect our coast from tropical storms and hurricanes. Returning sediment to wetlands combats erosion and encourages the survival of native foliage and wildlife, which will ultimately strengthen Louisiana's economy and preserve our food supply. New Orleans is especially vulnerable to tropical storms because it lies below sea level, is losing its protective coast, and is located off the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, NOLA is constantly experiencing both major and minor floods that inflict expensive damage to homes and businesses. 

Glass Half Full's recycled sand is used to fill sandbags that function to protect vulnerable areas. Sandbags are also vital for levee maintenance because they can be used to prevent overflow, manipulate the direction of water flow, absorb seepage, and for structural fortification. 

During my volunteering, I worked as a glass sorter. When people came by to drop off their glass, I helped to make sure that the caps were removed from all of their glass bottles, and then helped them sort their bottles by color. Everyone who came by seemed very appreciative of us and what we were doing, no matter if they were regulars and had dropped off glass before, or were first-timers. I really enjoyed this experience because I felt like, while it may have only been a small amount of work that I did, I still had a slight impact on something. I love the mission of Glass Half Full and felt like I was doing something really good with my time. I definitely want to continue volunteering with them. 

November hours: 2

Total hours: 12