When the sustainability movement took hold in construction a quarter century ago, concrete manufacturer Louis P. Grasso Jr. was driven by its leaders to gain a competitive advantage by producing a pozzolana made from locally sourced recycled glass to reduce the carbon content of cement. Soda-lime glass, commonly used in bottles, consistently contains at least 71 percent silica, “which immediately indicated its potential as a high-quality pozzolana,” he says. That spawned its development of the trademark additive Pozzotive, now in its largest application yet: in 52,000 cubic meters of concrete used to build floors in the $3 billion-plus JPMorgan Chase high-rise in Manhattan, which opened last year.
Grasso, co-founder and co-managing partner of the company that produces and markets it, Urban Mining Industries Inc., found that concrete made with recycled glass pozzolana was stronger and more durable than traditional Portland cement, and that it can replace up to 50 percent of the material with just 6 percent of its carbon footprint. Glass waste also “was one of the most expensive and problematic recyclables in the waste stream … with little or no viable end market and largely destined for landfill, which is still the case today,” he says.
Proof-of-concept tests on cement mixes led to new industry group approvals and specifications, allowing the manufacturer to ramp up production at its Beacon Falls, Conn., plant, with 2025 sales of more than 20,000 tons of Pozzotive, a 25 percent increase over the previous year, according to the company, which lowers its latest earnings to disclose.
Connecticut cement contractor and producer O&G Industries partnered with Urban Mining Industries in 2021 to build the plant and uses Pozzotive to replace fly ash from coal-fired power plants that is in short supply as more facilities close.
Applications for Pozzotive have included projects for high-profile university buildings seeking sustainable construction technologies, as well as state transportation agencies to prevent road salts from penetrating concrete, the company says, also noting its use as an industrial filler in wall paint.
JPMorgan Chase Building in Manhattan
Photo courtesy of Urban Mining Industries Inc.
Pozzotive was put to the test when it was specified for use at the Park Ave headquarters. 60-story, 1,388-foot-tall for the investment bank, which set an ambitious goal to be the largest net-zero building in New York City. “When we proposed it [the owner] and they showed results from a previous project and the impact on the carbon footprint, they were ecstatic,” and allowed its use, says Fortunato Orlando, senior director of Severud Associates, the tower’s structural engineer, which has included Pozzotive in concrete specifications since 2016.
“We knew from our ongoing production levels at our plant that we could meet the demands of a project of this size,” says Grasso. “We pitched Pozzotive directly to the JPMorgan Chase leadership team and there was strong alignment among all stakeholders.” Replacing Pozzotive with 40 percent cement in all structural concrete except for the 16,000 psi foundation mix “not only saved over 5,000 tons of incorporated carbon, but also improved the strength of the concrete,” says Orlando. It “performed well in cold and hot weather with very minimal surface cracking.”
To expand the raw materials, Urban Mining Industries is developing a process to recycle glass from decommissioned solar energy panels as more panels are retired, Grasso says.
The company was chosen in 2024 for a $37 million US Department of Energy grant aimed at accelerating domestic manufacturing of clean energy and helping the company build new plants on the East Coast. But the Trump administration canceled it last year, along with hundreds of others. “We are working to re-engage with the agency involved,” Grasso says. “We continue to operate our business and make plans for continued growth regardless of this,” he says, noting efforts to launch a new round of capital raising.
