Description North Lands Creative (NLC) is a unique studio organisation and gallery based in Lybster, Caithness, aiming to become an international centre of excellence in glass making and creative glass industry. NLC has 25 years’ experience of developing a range of nationally and internationally funded projects, encouraging collaboration and fostering research. For this project, NLC contacted the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory (AMRL) seeking support in developing an informed strategy on how to optimise their manufacturing processes, reduce the impact on the environment and support their journey towards developing a range of products under the ethos of green design credentials.This idea is fundamental to NLC’s capabilities to progress their commitment to net zero carbon by 2045 and reduce glass waste by maximising the benefits of the materials found in the local natural environment. The research will focus on local materials (recyclable glass, sand and kelp), locally sourced recycled glass (cullet) from the hospitality industry and raw materials from the Northeast Scottish coastline to create a breakthrough technology that allows efficient recycling into high quality applications and processes. Part of the project will focus on an experimental development phase to identify new sustainable processes for the making of high-end artistic glass creations and homeware. Key Objectives Literature review of traditional processes used for the manufacture of glass and composition of glass, and to identify best natural sites along the Caithness coastline.Environmental assessment to determine if local beach sand, seashells and kelp could be obtained/ harvested and also whether this would cause any adverse environmental issues.Characterisation of soda (seaweed), silica (sand), lime (shells) and flux sources found in Caithness. This will include compositional analysis via X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy, morphological characterisation via scanning electron microscopy and thermal properties measurement for processing parameters (e.g. phase transition temperature, heat capacity, thermal conductivity).Benchmarking the properties of the raw materials with those of the traditional constituents of glass making to determine if the materials available locally are suitable for use in making glass and how their used affects the composition and properties (e.g. colour, melting temperature and stability) of the glass made.