Green Virtues of Green Sand - IELTS Reading Answers

Nehasri Ravishenbagam

11 min read

Updated On Feb 03, 2026

Get ready for IELTS Academic Reading by solving Green Virtues of Green Sand IELTS Reading Answers with explanations. Enhance your score by mastering various question types and reviewing the provided answers to test your reading skills for Band 9.

Passage for Green Virtues of Green Sand Reading Answers
Questions for Green Virtues of Green Sand Reading Answers
Answers for Green Virtues of Green Sand IELTS Reading Passage with Location and Explanation

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Staying focused during an extended reading test can be difficult, particularly for those who are prone to distractions. Practicing with individual passages like ‘Green Virtues of Green Sand IELTS Reading Answers’ helps improve your attention span in a structured manner. By completely focusing on a single passage, you develop the mental stamina necessary to remain engaged during longer and more challenging reading tasks.

Solve a practice passage titled 'Green Virtues of Green Sand IELTS Reading Answers', followed by IELTS Reading questions, and answer explanations to help you prepare for this task.

Passage for Green Virtues of Green Sand Reading Answers

Practicing with IELTS Academic Reading samples, such as the ‘Green Virtues of Green Sand’ IELTS Reading Answers, is beneficial for becoming familiar with the different question styles and the expected level of difficulty. Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-14, which are based on the Reading Passage below.

Green Virtues of Green Sand

A For the past 100 years, special high grade white sand dug from the ground at Leighton Buzzard in the UK. has been used to filter tap water to remove bacteria and impurities but this may no longer be necessary. A new factory that turns used wine bottles into green sand could revolutionise the recycling industry and help to filter Britain’s drinking water. Backed by $1.6m from the European Union and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), a company based in Scotland is building the factory, which will turn beverage bottles back into the sand from which they were made in the first place. The green sand has already been successfully tested by water companies and is being used in 50 swimming pools in Scotland to keep the water clean.

B The idea is not only to avoid using up an increasingly scarce natural resource, sand but also to solve a crisis in the recycling industry. Britain uses 5.5m tonnes of glass a year, but recycles only 750,000 tonnes of it. The problem is that half the green bottle glass in Britain is originally from imported wine and beer bottles. Because there is so much of it, and it is used less in domestic production than other types, green glass is worth only $25 a tonne. Clear glass, which is melted down and used for whisky bottles, mainly for export, is worth double that amount.

C Howard Drvden. a scientist and managing director of the company. Drvden Aqua, of Bonnyrigg, near Edinburgh, has spent six years working on the product he calls Active Filtration Media, or AFM. He concedes that he has given what is basically recycled glass a ‘fancy name' to remove the stigma of what most people would regard as an inferior product. He says he needs bottles that have already contained drinkable liquids to be sure that drinking water filtered through the AFM would not be contaminated. Crushed down beverage glass has fewer impurities than real sand and it performed better in trials. *The fact is that tests show that AFM does the job better than sand, it is easier to clean and reuse and has all sorts of properties that make it ideal for other applications.' he claimed.

D The factory is designed to produce 100 tonnes of AFM a day, although Mr Dryden regards this as a large-scale pilot project rather than full production. Current estimates of the UK market for this glass for filtering drinking water, sewage, industrial water, swimming pools and fish farming are between 175.000 to 217.000 tonnes a year, which w ill use up most of the glass available near the factory. So he intends to build five or six factories in cities where there are large quantities of bottles, in order to cut down on transport costs.

E The current factory will be completed this month and is expected to go into full production on January 14th next year. Once it is providing a ‘regular’ product, the government’s drinking water inspectorate will be asked to perform tests and approve it for widespread use by water companies. A Defra spokesman said it was hoped that AFM could meet approval within six months. The only problem that they could foresee was possible contamination if some glass came from sources other than beverage bottles.

F Among those who have tested the glass already is Caroline Fitzpatrick of the civil and environmental engineering department of University College London. ‘We have looked at a number of batches and it appears to do the job.' she said. ‘Basically, sand is made of glass and Mr Dryden is turning bottles back into sand. It seems a straightforward idea and there is no reason we can think of why it would not work. Since glass from wine bottles and other beverages has no impurities and clearly did not leach any substances into the contents of the bottles, there was no reason to believe there would be a problem,’ Dr Fitzpatrick added.

G Mr Dryden has set up a network of agents round the world to sell AFM. It is already in use in central America to filter water on banana plantations where the fruit has to he washed before being despatched to European markets. It is also in use in sewage works to filter water before it is returned to rivers, something which is becoming legally necessary across the European Union because of tighter regulations on sewage works. So there are a great number of applications involving cleaning up water. Currently, however, AFM costs $670 a tonne, about four times as much as good quality sand. ‘Hut that is because we haven't got large-scale production. Obviously, when we get going it will cost a lot less, and be competitive with sand in price as well.’ Mr Dryden said. ‘I believe it performs better and lasts longer than sand, so it is going to be better value too.'

H If AFM takes off as a product it will be a big boost for the government agency which is charged with finding a market for recycled products. Crushed glass is already being used in road surfacing and in making tiles and bricks. Similarly. AFM could prove to have a widespread use and give green glass a cash value.

Questions for Green Virtues of Green Sand Reading Answers

The academic passage, ‘Green Virtues of Green Sand’, consists of 14 questions. It presents two different IELTS Reading question types with examples.

IELTS Reading Matching Information (Q. 1-10)
IELTS Reading Summary Completion (Q. 11-14)

Questions 1-10

The Reading Passage has 8 paragraphs labelled A-H.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 1-10 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

1 a description of plans to expand production of AFM

2 the identification of a potential danger in the raw material for AFM

3 an example of AFM use in the export market

4 a comparison of the value of green glass and other types of glass

5 a list of potential applications of AFM in the domestic market

6 the conclusions drawn from laboratory checks on the process of AFM production

7 identification of current funding for the production of green sand

8 an explanation of the chosen brand name for crushed green glass

9 a description of plans for exporting AFM

10 a description of what has to happen before AFM is accepted for general use

Questions 11-14

Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.

Green sand

The use of crushed green glass (AFM) may have two significant impacts: it may help to save a diminishing 11…….. while at the same time solving a major problem for the 12…….. in the UK. However, according to Howard Dryden, only glass from bottles that have been used for 13…….. can be used in the production process. AFM is more effective than 14…….. as a water filter, and also has other uses.

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Answers for Green Virtues of Green Sand IELTS Reading Passage with Location and Explanation

Examine the in-depth explanations for the 'Green Virtues of Green Sand' reading passage questions above to comprehend how to solve them and improve your reading skills for achieving a high IELTS band score.

Question Number	Answer	Explanation
1	D	Paragraph D explains that, although the factory is designed to produce 100 tonnes of AFM a day, Mr Dryden ‘intends’ (plans) to build five or six factories in cities’ where ‘there are large quantities of bottles’, in order to ‘cut down on transport costs’. So, if one factory produces 100 tonnes of AFM a day, five to six factories will produce around 500-600 tonnes, thereby expanding the production of AFM. Hence, the answer is D.
2	E	Paragraph E reveals that a Defra spokesman said it was hoped that ‘AFM’ could meet approval within six months. The ‘only problem’ that they could foresee was ‘possible contamination if some glass came from sources’ (potential danger in the raw material) other than beverage bottles. Hence, the answer is E.
3	G	Paragraph G points out that ‘AFM is already in use’ in central America to filter water on banana plantations where the fruit has to be washed before ‘being despatched to European markets’ (use in the export market). Hence, the answer is G.

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4	B	Paragraph B mentions that the green bottle glass is used less in domestic production than other types, ‘green glass is worth only $25 a tonne’. ‘Clear glass’, which is melted down and used for whisky bottles, ‘is worth double that amount’. Hence, the answer is B.
5	D	Paragraph D states that 100 tonnes of ‘AFM’ is produced in a day. Current estimates of the ‘UK market’ (the domestic market) for this glass for ‘filtering drinking water, sewage, industrial water, swimming pools and fish farming’ (list of potential applications of AFM) are between 175.000 to 217.000 tonnes a year. Hence, the answer is D.
6	F	Paragraph F informs that Caroline Fitzpatrick of the civil and environmental engineering department of University College London tested the glass. She concluded that, ‘Basically, ‘sand is made of glass’ and Mr Dryden is ‘turning bottles back into sand’. It seems a ‘straightforward idea’.’ She adds that since ‘glass from wine bottles and other beverages has no impurities’ and clearly ‘did not leach any substances into the contents of the bottles’, there was no reason to believe there would be a problem. Hence, the answer is F.
7	A	Paragraph A declares that backed by ‘$1.6m from the European Union and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)’ (funding), a ‘company based in Scotland’ is building the factory, which will ‘turn beverage bottles back into the sand’ from which they were made in the first place. The ‘green sand’ has already been successfully tested by water companies and is being used in 50 swimming pools in Scotland to keep the water clean. Hence, the answer is A.
8	C	Paragraph C let out the fact that Drvden Aqua has spent six years working on the product he calls Active Filtration Media, or AFM. He concedes that ‘he has given what is basically recycled glass a ‘fancy name’’ to ‘remove the stigma of what most people would regard as an inferior product’ (explanation of the chosen brand name for crushed green glass). Hence, the answer is C.
9	G	Paragraph G relates that AFM is already in use in central America ‘to filter water on banana plantations’ where the fruit has to be washed before being ‘despatched to European markets’ (exporting). It is also in use ‘in sewage works to filter water before it is returned to rivers’, something which is becoming legally necessary across the European Union because of tighter regulations on sewage works. Hence, the answer is G.
10	E	Paragraph E states that the current AFM factory is expected to go into full production on January 14th next year. Once it is ‘providing a ‘regular’ product’, the ‘government’s drinking water inspectorate will be asked to perform tests and approve it’ (description of what has to happen) for ‘widespread use by water companies’ (for general use). Hence, the answer is E.
11	Natural resource	The first sentence of paragraph B mentions that the idea behind building the factory in Scotland,is not only to ‘avoid using up an increasingly scarce natural resource’, but also to solve a crisis in the recycling industry. Hence, the answer is ‘natural resource’.
12	Recycling industry	In the beginning of paragraph B, it is conveyed that the idea behind building the factory of AFM in ‘Scotland’ (UK), is not only to avoid using up an increasingly scarce natural resource, but also to ‘solve a crisis in the recycling industry’. Hence, the answer is ‘recycling industry’.
13	Drinkable liquids/beverages	Paragraph C introduces Howard Drvden. a scientist and managing director of the company, Drvden Aqua, who says he needs bottles that have already contained ‘drinkable liquids’ to be sure that drinking water filtered through the AFM would not be contaminated. Crushed down ‘beverage’ glass has fewer impurities than real sand and it performed better in trials. Hence, the answer is ‘drinkable liquids/beverages’.
14	(real) sand	Paragraph C claims that ‘AFM’ does the job of filtering fewer impurities better than ‘real sand’/better than ‘sand’ as it is easier to clean and reuse and has all sorts of properties that make it ideal for other applications. Hence, the answer is ‘(real) sand’.

In conclusion, we have examined the Green Virtues of the Green Sand IELTS Reading answers, discussing their locations. These strategies will help you confidently address challenging questions. It's essential to keep practicing with different IELTS Reading practice tests, as they can help you strengthen any areas where you may be weak in preparation for the IELTS reading exam.

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