LifeCity Validates Impact of Glass Half Full Expansion

In July 2025, LifeCity visited Glass Half Full (GHF)’s new glass recycling facility in Chalmette, LA to validate the impact of AMCREF Community Capital’s recent NMTC investment in the company. AMCREF’s investment into GHF helped the company to move into the new 20,000 square foot facility, which will allow GHF to provide a service that is typically unavailable to Louisiana residents by drastically expanding its glass recycling program. 

The new facility will be able to serve over 46,000 residential customers and 3,200 commercial customers, while increasing GHF’s total recycling capacity from 1.8M pounds in 2022 to 262M pounds at full capacity. Glass recycled at GHF will have two end uses: some will be used to be converted back into glass products, while some will be converted into sand that will be used to support coastal restoration efforts in south Louisiana. The project will have numerous economic benefits for St. Bernard Parish including quality job creation. Franziska Trautmann, Co-Founder and CEO of GHF, described the importance of AMCREF’s NMTC investment in facilitating the company’s expansion: “The New Markets Tax Credit was the glue that held this deal and this project together….The process was complicated, but the AMCREF team was with us every step of the way, and ultimately made all of our dreams come true.”

Expanding Glass Recycling

According to Trautmann, 70% of all glass in the US is landfilled, and the number may be higher in the southeast due to a dearth of recycling programs. Historically, residential glass recycling has been inaccessible in Louisiana, with around 60,000 tons of glass being landfilled annually. Prior to the expansion, GHF’s greatest challenge was the demand for glass recycling and the limited capacity of its recycling facility. Now, according to Trautmann, “Our capacity to recycle glass has grown immensely with this new facility. So the challenge is not having too much glass; the challenge is how much glass can we get?” 

The new facility is around 20,000 square feet on three acres of land and will benefit from state-of-the-art automation, according to Trautmann: “We have completely automated machinery, from hoppers to size separators, to separating out contaminants, metals, anything non-glass, corks, and then really refining both of our products.” The facility will increase the company’s annual recycling capacity by over 260M pounds, making glass recycling available to residents and businesses across the state while providing crucial material to be deployed for land building projects along Louisiana’s coastal zone.

Creating Quality Jobs

Glass Half Full is creating major impact in St. Bernard Parish through the creation and retention of quality jobs in a community with a high unemployment rate. GHF’s expansion will support 99 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs – 12 retained and 87 newly created – along with 39 temporary construction jobs. Ryan Randall, St. Bernard Parish Councilmember for District D, described the impact of a sustainable company like GHF relocating in the parish: “Anytime you bring 100 jobs and a facility, that’s a good thing, especially if they’re going to pay over the normal rate. You just add to our economy, secondary economy, homeownership – all of that is just great for St. Bernard Parish.” 

All FTEs created at GHF are quality jobs, averaging 40% above the local living wage. All are accessible to LIC residents and low-income persons, and nearly all are accessible to individuals with lower levels of education and individuals with other barriers to employment. GHF is planning a partnership with Nunez Community College for workforce training and recruitment. Said Steitz, “[Jobs at GHF] are open to formerly incarcerated folks, veterans, disabled personnel. We have job opportunities and roles that fit all of the different circumstances people are in.” 

Bolstering the Local Economy

Glass Half Full’s expansion in St. Bernard Parish is well aligned with local economic development goals, and the job creation will help support the local economy. The company has maintained local support, with the expansion receiving endorsement letters from the chancellor of Nunez Community College, the CEO of the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation, and the St. Bernard Parish president. Local organizations have stepped up to support the project, including the Meraux Foundation who donated $1.75M to the parish government to install infrastructure for a new industrial park on Paris Road that now has GHF as its first and anchor tenant. 

St. Bernard Parish is marked by significant economic distress, but according to Randall, GHF is an example of the parish’s ability to attract important businesses: “It proves that we can add industry from outside of the box, to provide good paying jobs, to serve an incredibly important process to better the environment, our local economy, and people’s lives.” 

AMCREF’s investment into GHF is an example of the NMTC being used efficiently to address numerous community development challenges. The project will create jobs, bolster the local economy, and address the dual environmental issues of glass recycling and coastal restoration, all while supporting a local start up business that is embedded in the local community. Trautmann reflected on the expansion: “I’m just immensely proud of our team and honored that people have trusted us throughout this process. I’m just excited to see how much glass we can get and how much coast we can restore.”