Stop Sand Mining With Beer And This Machine

New Zealand brew, DB Export, might just have the answer to the recent threat of sand mining that faces the Swartland.

A couple of weeks ago the Swartland Municipality Tribunal gave the go-ahead for the mining of sand, yes sand, on the slopes of the Paardeberg mountain. Outrage followed by nearby wineries, arguing that the natural surroundings will be ruined by mining. Although it might be ironic that the very glass bottles needed to store the wine might very well destroy it, sand mining is a serious global concern.

Countries like the US, India, Australia and New Zealand have been facing the sand diggers for years. And with sand at the cornerstone of our civilisation, this mining process has erupted into a billion dollar per year industry.

Fed-up with this, Kiwi brewery DB Export stepped up to solve the problem with the solution to every Kiwi problem, namely BEER.

When you drink beer you have ideas. So when they heard that two thirds of the world’s beaches were retreating, the brewery built a machine that turns your empty bottles back into sand.

Sceptics might say that this will never produce enough sand to sustain the growing need for sand, but the lesson here is in recycling. Let’s have a beer and put back the sand.