Trending Terrazzo by Bottle-Up Made from Recycled Glass Waste.

Bottle-Up has launched a series of glass terrazzo objects, made from recycled glass waste from Zanzibar.

Tourism is an increasingly important source of income in Zanzibar, although it also causes a significant increase in the amount of (glass) waste. The African island is not yet sufficiently equipped to process this waste, which means that the glass ultimately finds its way into the natural surroundings. But what if that same tourism could also contribute to processing this waste? The Bottle-Up foundation is realising this dream by creating new products from glass waste in collaboration with Dutch designers and local craftsman. What began in 2015 with an initial series of locally made glass products has now grown to become the two new products – bottle | brick and Trending Terrazzo.

Trending Terrazzo is a material in which the beautiful properties of glass remain visible and these fragments are given a valuable new purpose. It is the perfect material for producing sustainable furniture made in Zanzibar. These products are made using unusual ‘moulds’ found on the island. A metal wok became the basis for a little table and a piece of corrugated iron served as a template for a table leg.

bottle | brick is a building block made from only glass and cement. The first prototypes prove that it is possible to make a strong building block using cement, glass fragments and crushed glass, which replace the use of sand and gravel.

[Images courtesy of Bottle-Up. Photography by Jeroen van der Wielen.]