Flowers Grown from Glass? Walt Disney World Highlights New Sustainability Initiatives in Web Video with Mariana van Zeller

As part of National Geographic’s Earth Month celebration, journalist Mariana van Zeller (host of Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller) visited the Walt Disney World resort to learn about some cutting-edge recycling initiatives being used there.

What’s Happening:

  • Mariana van Zeller recently visited the Walt Disney World Resort for a look at some sustainability work and environmental initiatives.
  • In the short, an Environmental Integration Project Manager named Jared shows Mariana a Glass Pulverizer that takes recycled glass from throughout the Walt Disney World Resort (about 2,000 tons) and breaks it up into small pieces without any sharp corners, known as glass cullet.
  • At Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground, glass cullet is used to line horse riding trails, a sustainable replacement for gravel mined from quarries.
  • A new pilot program is in place at the Walt Disney World Nurseries, replacing coquina (a type of clamshell) with glass cullet as a greenhouse base. Flowers on display right now at the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival were grown in greenhouses with a glass cullet base.
  • Disney is looking for other ways to use glass cullet on property, including as the base for additional trails, parking lots, and water runoff areas.
  • “And now, I am leaving covered in Pixie Dust,” Maria van Zeller shares at the end of her tour.
  • This video was produced in collaboration with Disney’s Planet Possible sustainability initiative.

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Alex Reif
Alex joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and has been a lifelong Disney fan. His main beats for LP are Disney-branded movies, TV shows, books, music and toys. He recently became a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA).