Case Studies

Grand Canyon National Park and Crushed Glass

Visiting the Grand Canyon National Park, most people are probably not thinking about where recycled glass goes, but all they have to do is take a look around them. During the last four years, Grand Canyon National Park has been using crushed glass all around the park.

The glass is being used in many different ways, daily landfill cover, pipe bedding and as a base for its maintenance roads. When it rains or snows the clay-glass base stays compacted and resists the moisture much longer, much like an asphalt-hard surface, and also provides great traction material when spread on the icy, snow-covered roads in the winter.

Crushed glass is also used on the park's walking trails as an underlay. The glass firms up the path base, keeping the upper trail cover from sinking as quickly into the soil below.

Other uses for crushed glass at the Grand Canyon National Park include a sparkling material mix for gardens and is used in dirt parking lots to hold down the dust.