recycling
Metal Recycling : Aluminum And Steel Cans
Every year thousands of tons of trash is poured into landfills. Though we are in no immediate danger of running short on landfill space, this is expensive in terms of time, space, and energy invested, along with the sheer waste of materials that will not ever be used again.
With that in mind, consider the reasons below for keeping your steel and aluminum cans out of landfill sites by recycling them instead.
– Aluminum that has been recycled is back in use again within a couple of months. On the other hand, it would take 200-500 years for that same to break down naturally in a landfill.
- Metal cans can be recycled for cash at lots of places. Several states offer five cents for each can given to them, and some recycling centers offer between fifty cents and two dollars per pound of cans recycled.
- There are multiple can-crushing machines on the market, including some that can be made at home for almost no cost. This removes the a commonly used excuse that recycling cans takes up too much space.
– Recycled steel and aluminum are no different in composition from ‘new’ aluminum and steel. Recycled metals are just melted down and mixed into lots to make new products.
– The United States presently uses steel that is more than 65 percent recycled. This is a good start, but it could definitely be higher. Significant further progress would be made if more people were aware that they can recycle their steel cans.
– The 100,000,000 ‘new’ steel cans produced on a daily basis consist of 25% recycled materials. That equates to 25 million reclaimed cans versus 75 million completely new cans. If more people recycled, that number could easily jump to 50-50 and a huge amount of resources and energy would be saved.
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http://www.cancrusher.org.uk is a site offering information about recycling aluminum and steel cans.
Recycling Bins – Pre-Purchase Considerations For Companies
There are numerous issues that need to be considered when setting up a new recycling scheme in your company. For example, what waste streams will be recycled, how much waste will be produced, how many, and what type, of containers will be required, and do these need to adhere to a particular color scheme? With all these different, and sometimes confusing, aspects to think about, we may forget to consider the actual environmental impact of the recycling bins themselves.
A large proportion of recycling and waste bins are manufactured from plastic, and a approximately 8% of global oil production is currently used in the manufacturing of plastics. Extracting this finite resource requires vast quantities of energy, and the process of plastic production uses harmful chemicals, whilst emitting pollutants and greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. Therefore, despite being created for an environmentally beneficial use, the manufacturing of recycling bins has detrimental effects.
Fortunately, there are things that you can do to minimize the negative effects that result from recycling bins…
- Purchase second-hand containers. The best way you can minimize environmental impacts in waste management is through re-use. If you can find good quality second-hand recycling containers then this prevents the bins from simply being discarded. You would be surprised at how many large corporations find themselves with an excess of containers as a result of an altered pilot recycling project.
– Purchase quality products. Look for containers that are durable and well constructed. Those used commercially will need to withstand far greater wear and tear than those used in the home. Opt for well made products which are less likely to need replacing and will last for years to come.
- Look for products with recycled plastic content. Many containers are now manufactured with a percentage of post-consumer recycled plastic. This will reduce the need for extraction of virgin materials and will also reduce energy consumption and emissions. As an example, producing recycled plastic bags uses around 60% less energy, and 90% less water, compared to virgin production.
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Ware 4 Recycling Bins Ltd have been promoting cost effective bins, trolleys and waste containers for over 5 years. For more info, visit http://www.ware4.co.uk
Is Your Company As Green As It Should Be?
It is a fact that companies who take a clean and green approach to the way that they operate are more trusted by customers, and the public in general, and also incur fewer costs. What then can be done to become an environmentally friendly company?
Reduce Waste Where Possible – Practically every company produces waste of some sort, whether it be paper or left over raw products, and where there is waste, there is a way of reducing it. Being more careful and precise when creating products, using less packaging, and sending invoices electronically, are just a few examples of ways that wastage can be reduced.
Purchase Recycled Paper – Purchasing recycled paper is no more expensive than buying virgin paper, and the quality is the same. Therefore, there really is no excuse for continuing to buy virgin paper, which not only requires more trees to be cut down, but also uses up substantially more water and energy to make.
Re-Use Plastic Cups – Around 8% of global annual oil production is currently used in the manufacturing of plastics and the process of production uses harmful chemicals. (Waste Online, 2008) Plastics are non-biodegradable and may take hundreds of years to decompose. So, if an office has a vending machine, employees can re-use a plastic cup throughout the day or perhaps keep their own mug at their desk.
Recycle Printer Cartridges – Printer cartridges that are thrown away are a real problem for the environment, and are also the cause of unnecessary extra costs being incurred for companies. Once a printer cartridge has run out, the best and cheapest option is to just refill it yourself, alternatively though, you can send it back to the supplier, who will then sell you a recycled one, that works as good as a new one, for as little as half the price.
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Ware 4 Ltd have been promoting cost effective bins, trolleys and waste containers for over 5 years. For more info, visit http://www.ware4.co.uk
Recycled Products
Items manufactured from re-used materials fall into the category of recycled products. The pre-consumer material gets to the recycling facility either in the form of scrap or waste or as unsold items that can be reconditioned. By special technologies, such products are made again in a new form. The advantages of using recycled products are manifold.
Water, oil, electricity, trees and other resources are saved thanks to the use of the recycled products. The natural beauty in the environment can thus be saved from destruction with every effort we make to reuse or recycle. Moreover, the reduction of pollution directly results from recycling, and here is why we have one other strong point in its favor.
The market is intoxicated with products made from primary resources, and statistics indicate that the consume is far beyond the recycling capacity that we have at present. Efforts are being made to encourage people to choose recycled products more both in order to reduce the consume and to protect the environment. The Earth-friendly goal in fact animates any campaign for recycled products, but the support of the public is essential for success.
Recycled products such as paper are very much within reach for the average user, not to mention that they are very cheap too. Lots of savings can be achieved from this effort alone as we reduce the water, electricity and energy consume besides the primary matter necessary for the virgin paper. Every ton of recycled paper saves between seven and twenty-four trees; just think about it! You can read about more savings in the special reports available online.
People earn their living worldwide by working in recycled products manufacturing facilities. The green process is complete when the recycling effort is supported by the consume of the recycled products. Natural resources have a somber future if people do not start supporting the recycling markets more intensely.
Therefore, it is not enough to recycle the waste, but also to buy the new recycled products in order to close the loop. Otherwise, only half the job is done. Let’s show the same interest for the finite recycled product as we show for the recycling process. Reused material can often provide the same quality standards if it is recycled well. Therefore, let’s double our efforts and support the complete recycling process!
Recycle My Oil
One interesting fact about Waste Vegetable Oil is that the US produces over 100 million gallons a year. Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) that is filtered can be used straight in diesel vehicles that have been converted to cool the oil, or bio-diesel can be used with no conversion to the vehicle at all. Bio-diesel refining involves some toxic substances – methanol for example – and reduces the cost differential between conventional and recycled fuel. As an alternative to massive gas consumption, waste vegetable oil starts to make sense. One wvo recycling company in Colorado EPR inc. has an oil collection service that will collect restaurant or food service WVO on a regular basis for free. Many companys make arrangements with restaurants/food service to gather and re-use WVO (with or without further refinement) in their converted cars. I would seen that many greenhouse gases are created every year from the burning of diesel fuel in trucks. The recent fuel prices are cause for creative ways to act responsible environmentally speaking and one way, is to use waste vegetable oil as a renewable supply of fuel for vehicles. There are so many benefits of using this source to replace fossil fuels and some of these include abridged air pollution, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and conservation many other valuable resources found on the planet. There are two different ways that you can use vegetable oil as a fuel in engines. The first way is that you can use straight vegetable oil either waste frying oil or fresh- pressed oil, however you will need an extra fuel tank and a system for heating and filtering the oil before it reaches the engine. The oil needs to be heated it is too thick to just work in an engine. If your goal is to go modification free on your diesel your best bet is to use not just WVO but Bio-Diesel. Bio-diesel is a fuel source that can be made from waste vegetable oil when a chemical reaction is induced between methanol and lye. You can create it from waste vegetable oil that can be collected from most restaurants, or you can use fresh pressed oil but that can be costly. World wide this is being produced today to be sold on the commercial market, due to the fact that anyone can get the right equipment it can even be made in your home. Some of the toxic air pollutants that are concentrated include soot, particulates, carbon monoxide, and sulphur oxides, however nitrous oxide emissions may increase slightly.
