Green Innovation Product for Sustainable Waste Management

The management of glass bottle waste remains a critical environmental challenge in urban centers like Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This study investigates the upcycling of this waste stream into high-value, functional products, such as platters, through a combination of cold working (cutting) and hot working (flameworking), within the Green Innovation Product (GIP) paradigm. An experimental methodology was employed, comparing the efficiency of a small, updraft kiln (2023 experiment) with a larger, downdraft kiln (2025 experiment). Results demonstrated that while utilizing the entire glass bottle (neck, body, and base) enhanced material efficiency, the larger kiln’s stacked firing arrangement was ineffective, as only the top layers melted completely even with extended firing durations up to 120 minutes. The study concludes that scaling production efficiency is contingent not on kiln size alone, but on achieving uniform heat distribution, for which a single-level, flatbed kiln design is proposed. This research confirms the technical feasibility of transforming glass waste into commercially viable products and underscores the necessity of appropriate technology integration to realize the principles of GIP, offering a scalable model for sustainable waste management and local entrepreneurship.