Research is underway at the UTRGV Edinburg campus to see if recycled glass can help with agricultural and coastal restoration.

The research consists of using a mixture of soil and the recycled glass to grow plants. The project is in its early stages, and researchers say they have been able to get some results.

“[It’s] asking, can we use recycling glass to grow vegetables that we can use.” Professor Teresa Patricia Feria Arroyo said.

The team says farmers across the Rio Grande Valley face erosion that causes them to lose the fertile soil that helps crops grow. 

“We’re always thinking of erosion and how our soil is being damaged by this erosion, and without good soil, we cannot grow plants in summers,” Arroyo said.

With a mix of the crushed glass and soil, researchers are monitoring the growth of jalapeños, green peppers and cilantro. 

The team is also seeing how the glass and soil mixture affects the vegetables by testing their taste and remaining vitamins.

The project is in collaboration with Tulane University in New Orleans. 

UTRGV Assistant Professor Dr. Julie Vanegas is spearheading the project

The project is also helping with coastal erosion, as UTRGV research labs at South Padre Island are looking at those findings to see how it can help our coast.

The crushed glass they use can be seen at a "wave tank," a recreation of a beach environment that simulates the effects of glass sand in an erosion.

The hope is to one day use the recycled glass to mitigate erosion, and increase dune restoration.

“I think it will be a huge change in the RGV, and I would love to see in the near future or the island being restored with this glass sand,” UTRGV research assistant Samantha Tomayo said.

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