Cheryl Bandstra's Page

Grand River Recycled Glass was formed in 2004. In working with TriVitro out of Seattle, WA. we brought 52,000 pounds of glass filtration media to Grand Rapids, had it bagged and began selling "Aquatic Crystal".
I had no background in this industry. My former husband/partner grew up in the pool industry. The filtration industry continues to grow and has passed the first stage of NSF approval. It is rumored that the approval has been blocked by the giants in the field - silica sand & zeolite. Both are strip mined & both stand to loose millions. Glass outperforms them and will last the lifetime of the pool. Without NSF approval glass cannot be installed in public pools.
A local countertop contractor, doing his homework, found me listed on TriVitro's site and asked if I could supply terrazzo glass. By this time I no longer worked with TriVitro and was getting my filtration media from Strategic Materials. I was able to meet his needs at a fraction of what other suppliers are charging.
I now work with recycled glass manufactures across the country to meet the needs of the concrete industry, also across the country.
I have found glass in CA to supply the CA market. I have found a new contact here in my beautiful state of Michigan and hope to supply the local contractors. My goal is to see Michigan recycle all glass/create jobs/create new industry.
I love to fish, kayak, rollerblade & cross country ski - I am in love with my state! I'm trying to make a difference!
I will be creating a new web site soon. I have located red glass. The glass I carry now is all post consumer/post industrial - not melted down and recolored. The red glass is manufactured - it will be pricey but under the $3.50# that I see others are charging.
For those of you who landscape - I have found tumbled but minimum order is 1,000#. I have also found dead leaf green in CA and emerald green in Dallas.
Minimum order for glass is 300#. I realize that this is sometimes too much. I networked for a company this week & connected him with another contractor who had extra. Post Office Mailer boxes hold 25# and ship for $10.00 anywhere. Perhaps we can get together and solve this problem for the smaller businesses or those just starting out.

Thanks to Boom for making me aware of this site - Tim w/ Petra Cast Stone for finding me and getting me involved in this very exciting field & Abe for taking the time to show me how to blog!