A Glass Recycling Business Plan for the Caño Martín Peña Communities
Project Sponsor: ENLACE
Team Members: Douglas Cain, Leah Harnisch-Weidauer, Claire Matthews, Priyankha Sunil
Project Advisor: Professors John-Michael Davis and Alizé Carrère
Abstract: Puerto Rican recycling infrastructure is insufficient, and glass is a neglected material. Our team partnered with ENLACE, a community-based organization, to develop a small-scale selfsustaining glass recycling program to mitigate glass pollution in the Martín Peña communities, a historically low-income and underserved region. By analyzing start-up and operational costs, collection methods, and clients, our team compiled a detailed business plan that ENLACE can adapt for grant applications. The business plan is based on a dual-income model that provides free glass recycling services for the Martín Peña communities and charging collection services for neighboring businesses and selling pulverized glass to cement manufacturers.
