Glass is considered relatively eco-friendly because it’s recyclable. Now, Australian scientists are suggesting that glass waste could be used to make concrete that’s stronger and cheaper than ever.

Researchers at Australia’s Deakin University started with various pieces of non-recyclable glass, and then ground them up into a coarse powder. They then utilized that powder as an aggregate in polymer concrete, in place of the sand that’s normally used. Polymer concrete itself substitutes polymer resin for cement as a binding agent.  When the glass-based polymer concrete was subsequently tested, it was found to be significantly stronger than its traditional sand-based counterpart.

This research provides the evidence for the construction industry to see the potential of glass as a substitute of sand when making polymer concrete and, potentially concrete.