Three from Inamori School of Engineering write cover article in glass recycling for ACerS Bulletin

Collin Wilkinson (left) and Gabrielle Gaustad '04

An article on glass recycling, co-authored by Collin Wilkinson, assistant professor of glass science, Gabrielle Gaustad '04, dean of the Inamori School of Engineering, and post-doctorate researcher Arron Potter, appears as the cover story in the September issue of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) Bulletin.

The story, "Glass Waste Solutions: Current trends, emerging markets, and new technologies," discusses challenges companies and communities in the United States face in creating a more robust system for recycling waste glass. It also introduces a model for a glass recycling system in New York State, identifying ways to overcome challenges in recycling glass materials, and discusses emerging markets focused on reusing waste glass.

Alfred University glass scientists, led by Wilkinson as director of the university's Center for Glass Innovation, are actively involved in researching ways to reuse glass and decrease its flow into the waste stream. Much of the research is supported by $4.2 million in grant monies from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Environmental Protection Fund to study glass recycling.

Post-doctoral researcher Arron Potter

Wilkinson is leading a project, funded by the DEC grant with private company Silica-X as a research partner, to study ways to use waste glass to create an environmentally friendly and longer-lasting concrete using cement made with waste glass. Potter is leading research on another DEC-funded project researching ways to clean and reuse wine bottles, which typically find their ways into landfills. Additionally, students enrolled in the University's Summer Undergraduate Research Institute are working on projects aimed at finding unique ways to reuse waste glass.