Monserrate Cid, Argelys

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    Economic feasibility and public perception of using recycled glass as beach nourishment material to mitigate Puerto Rico erosion problems
    (2018) Monserrate Cid, Argelys; Rodríguez Abudo, Sylvia B.; College of Engineering; Perdomo Rivera, José L.; Chardón Maldonado, Patricia; Baiges Valentín, Iván; Department of Civil Engineering; Canals Silander, Miguel F.
    A portion of the Rincón coastline in Northwestern Puerto Rico has experienced an erosion rate of approximately 1 meter per year; the problem was significantly aggravated with the strong hit of hurricane María in September 2017. Evaluation of using a 50/50 percent mixture of recycled glass cullets (524K tons, 2.5 billion of glass bottles) and native beach as filling material was conducted using economic and social feasibility analyses, in conjunction with a life cycle assessment of glass bottles. Cost estimates of three beach nourishment scenarios, considering this technique and traditional offshore dredging methods indicates that total project costs increase proportionally with the increased distance between the dredging and filling areas, as well as with increased use of crushed glass. Given the cost of glass crushing, using recycled glass as beach nourishment material is not the most economically feasible alternative, roughly 7 times more expensive than the other methods. The social feasibility aspect of the project indicates that 63% of individuals would engage in glass recycling practices, which could potentially yield to 50K m3 of saved landfill space per year. Moreover, public perception of the project was found to be overwhelmingly favorable. To evaluate the potential environmental and public health benefits of using glass as a beach nourishment material as opposed to disposing in landfills, a life cycle assessment was conducted. Disposing of glass bottles in landfills presented a higher potential for global warming, ozone depletion and ecotoxicity in air and water. However, as distance between the origin of the glass waste and the location of the crushing plant increases, so does the potentially negative impacts to the environment and human health; with 45 miles marking the threshold for similar effects between both scenarios.