Our Mission and Story
About EarthMagic Recycling
EarthMagic's primary goal is collecting food and beverage glass and converting it into sand in an effort to keep glass out of the landfill.
Our vision is to make a difference in the environment, one piece of glass at a time!
Our mission is to help educate the community about glass recycling, to partner with other businesses and groups to meet recycle goals,
and to do something that is not currently being done in our area.
We are just getting started as a small woman-owned business in the Virginia Innovation Collective building in Buena Vista, VA.
You asked how we got started doing what we do. It all started with a video about glass recycling in New Zealand. They built special machine to crush the extra beverage glass and used that sand to fight beach erosion. The video left a lasting impression on me.
Several years later, I reached out to see if the equipment was available in the US. There was one distributer for Expleco equipment in the US located in New York. I priced the equipment and played with the idea of starting my own business. Then the COVID pandemic arrived in March 2020 and many things were put on the back burner. I lost my younger brother in March 2021 and reassessed things quite a bit. Glass recycling had been on my mind for a while now and I decided there was no time like the present to get started.
The business paperwork was filed. We found a location. EarthMagic Recycling LLC was born in August 2021.
Sand. Every person enjoys playing in it. The GLS 2.0 is the beast that crushes the food and beverage glass. It comes out completely safe and tumbled. This is due to the machine's hammermill system. We can only access food and beverage glass because of the way it is made. Other types of glass are created differently. I get excited by the different colors and shapes of the bottles. Some are so unique! The sand is colored by the bottles that are crushed. Green, clear, brown are the most common colors. Cobalt blue, Emerald and Leaf green, Amber, Ice blue, Sea Green, Sky Blue. These are colors we get in small amounts. Those bottles are saved until we have enough for run of sand.
The LV Screen is a life-changing machine. The crushed sand goes in and it vibrates down through the screens. This machine sorts the sand into five different particle sizes ranging from as fine as baby powder to pieces about 1/4 inch in size. People are amazed at how soft the sand is and that is came from crushed glass.
We have worked hard to make each step of the process efficient. We reached out to you in the community to offer something not being done. I am constantly amazed at the support we get from the community. We started collecting glass from residents in Buena Vista, Lexington and Rockbridge County. Now, we have added the whole surrounding area. All of the glass coming in is weighed. This data is reported to the localities for their records and reporting for DEQ.
Labels, tops and aluminum collars/foil have to be removed from most of the bottles and jars. This is definitely the most time-consuming part. We recycle our aluminum, corks and cardboard in addition to the glass. The labels are actually removed by hand. The clean, paperless glass is crushed as decorative sand. Decorative sand is sold in three product sizes - 8oz, 3lb and 10lb bags. Some of the glass can be crushed without the paper labels being removed. This sand is processed as sandbags. These are as canopy sandbags for tents/canopies, tube sandbags for directing run-off and such, and as 50lb sandbags. The 50lb sandbags can be sold individually or as a pallet of 1Ton. We will add more products as we are able to expand.
Our products can be used for projects big and small, and from crafts to construction. The sand is eco-friendly and 100% recycled material.
It is processed and packaged in Buena Vista, VA. You are a big part of this!
You can also find us on Instagram @earthmagicrecycling