In recent years the city of Lafayette took glass off the list of accepted materials in its curbside recycling program.
For the city, this may cut costs, but it also means additional unnecessary trash in landfills.
Backyard Sapphire is the glass recycling effort that is providing beautiful and creative solutions to this issue.
"It's about a ton and a half to two, but a solid ton and a half per month," says Tina Crapsi.
That's about the weight of a car in glass saved from landfills every month by Crapsi and her partner Dawn Vincent. They're the couple behind Backyard Sapphire.
"We started doing it about a year and a half ago for our family and friends," says Crapsi.
Their operation started small with a homemade glass crusher.
"Tina had already seen the glass crushing machines in existence and had kind of developed her own version of that," explains Vincent.
Now one year after the official launch date, Backyard Sapphire collects glass from about 100 homes and businesses then transforms it into something with beauty and purpose.
"The mulch is just the result of being a glass recycler. You end up with all this mulch and crushed glass and sand," says Crapsi of the lasting, landscape safe product she creates.
This glass mulch lasts longer and can be more effective than traditional mulch. All of the products are safe to handle, as the edges have been softened in the breakdown process.
Each piece of mulch or grain of sand becomes a small part of a big picture solution.
"It feels like so much when you look around and in the grand scheme of things, it's not. It doesn't matter in the grand scheme. We're doing our part and everybody involved in this backyard sapphire community," says Crapsi.
Become part of this effort by dropping off your glass at the Fightingville Fresh Farmer's Market or sign up for Curbside Pickup.
The mulch, pebbles and sand are also for sale at the Fightingville Fresh Farmer's Market oryou can order here.