Recycled glass and salt-loving bacteria are helping scientists bring back coastal cypress
Tulane University researchers and the recycling facility Glass Half Full are using evolutionary relationships between bacteria, fungi and plants to grow cypress and other plant species in glass sand created from recycled bottles.
Scientists hope to build back areas of Louisiana’s coast that have been eroded with the glass sand they have developed. Wetland plants like Louisiana’s iconic bald cypress need to grow and establish themselves to keep new sand from washing away.
Not all wetland plants can grow in glass sand alone. Instead, the glass needs to be mixed with nutrient-rich Mississippi River sediment and paired with bacteria and fungi.
