Global glass waste accounts for 130 million tons, of which only 21% is recycled. The production, disposal, transportation, and recycling of glass products contribute to high energy consumption, leading to an increasing carbon footprint and the depletion of raw materials. Several people come across waste glass but are unaware of its creative potential.

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To address this issue, I established Glass Yard, to harness the power of Eco-Social design while considering waste glass as a resource for building sustainable ecology and culture. Glass Yard promotes environmental sustainability and circular economy by integrating glass up-cycling into the culture by developing a maker’s space, facilitating workshops, capacity-building programs, designing tool kits and is in the process establishing social enterprise for glass up-cycling. Hoping that the process will manifest into behavioural changes and build a sustainable ecology & culture.

Glass upcycling workshops are facilitated for creative professionals, art enthusiasts, and environmental advocates in

crafting products from waste glass.

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The Tool Kits created by Glass Yard make all the materials easily accessible to the participants, motivating them to pursue upcycling.

Glass Yard runs capacity-building programs to train local waste collectors, ‘kabadi walas’, in glass bottle upcycling. This empowers them to offer glass upcycling services while collecting waste from households and the hospitality industry, creating economic opportunities and improving their livelihoods while providing customers with a way to upcycle their glass waste.

 

Glass Yard has designed an innovative portable ‘Glass Yard’s Tapping Tool’ to assist in cutting glass bottles while splitting open a score. It shows significant reduction in breakage, time, safety, effort and cost while offering an eco- friendly alternative to other conventional methods, such as the thermal shock technique. It pioneered the first GlassMakerspace in Hauz Khas, Delhi, providing a place for people to upcycle their glass waste. It has established a system for Portable studios to conduct upcycling workshops at various locations. This assists in effectively reaching a broader audience. Furthermore, Glass Yard is in the process of setting up a Small-Scale Glass Upcycling Social Ecological Enterprise within the Material Recovery Facilities of the NGO ‘Healing Himalayas’, aiming to create unique souvenirs from locally collected waste glass bottles. The initiative involves integrating local crafts such as hand weaving, wood carving, macrame, and knitting to create upcycled products which will support livelihood generation and preserve traditional crafts.

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Glass yard aims to generate value, extend the life of glass, promote environmental consciousness, develop a sustainable culture, and contribute to reducing carbon footprints for a global cause. Additionally, the brand seeks to provide individuals with a sense of achievement, psychological satisfaction, and tranquility through the process of creating unique solutions from waste glass.

 

Glass Yard actively contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly

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Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities,

Goal 13: Climate Action, and

Goal 08: Decent Work andEconomic Growth.