Walt Disney World Recognized for Glass Pulverizer Pilot at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

Picturing what’s possible is what we do at Disney, and the real magic begins when we put that possibility into practice. With the help of a machine that pulverizes glass into gravel and sand-like pieces, we’re not just imagining the possibilities for a world in balance, we’re working to make it a reality.

As part of a pilot program, the Walt Disney World team is collecting glass placed in recycle bins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. This glass is then transferred into a bin connected to a glass pulverizer. With the flip of a switch, glass travels up a conveyor belt where it is then crushed by multiple small hammers before being sorted through a large mesh screen for bigger, gravel-sized pieces or a smaller mesh screen for finer, sand-like material. Within 30 seconds, a sauce jar or beverage bottle can turn into a soft-sand mix.

At Fort Wilderness, this material is used to fill in holes on gravel roads and our horseback riding trails. The pulverizer processes the glass in a way that removes any sharp edges, which makes it safe for animals to walk on. It also creates less dust on the trails.

This pulverizer can process up to 2,000 pounds of glass per hour. So, a full ton can go through this machine every hour and be converted into sand and gravel.

In the near future, this material could have many other uses across Walt Disney World, including roadbeds, filtration systems, sandbags, and drainage improvements, to name a few. It may even be used in recreation areas and in non-structural concrete like sidewalks and tennis courts. And one day, this glass mixture might even be used for coastal restoration work.

Earlier this year, Walt Disney World was recognized for these efforts with an Environmental Initiatives Award from SEAL 2023 Business Sustainability Awards. The SEAL Business Sustainability Awards recognize and honor individual programs and initiatives that move the needle on environmental progress and demonstrate leadership and commitment to a sustainable future.

This work is just one example of the ways The Walt Disney Company is working to help protect the planet and meet our 2030 environmental goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve water, achieve zero waste to landfills, further reduce single-use plastics and emissions, and expand renewable energy efforts. We invite you to join us in building a brighter, more sustainable future.