Your Questions About Recycling
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Filed under Recycling Q & A
Thomas asks…
How does your recycling eventually get separated?
When I put my recycling out every 2 weeks, we can put all of the different types of recycling together. But how does the paper get separated from the plastics and glass? Does someone manually do it, or is there a machine?
The Expert answers:
Your rubbish go to what is called (MRF) this stands for material recycling facility. At these site some of the recycling is done by hand and by machine.
Check your local countcil web site?
Lisa asks…
What are major benefits of curbside recycling?
I am writing a persuasive essay on why our community should keep our curbside recycling program.
Please list your sources. Thanks.
The Expert answers:
Convenience – No need to haul stuff off to some distant recycling center results in more people actually recycling.
Conservation – The amount of stuff going into landfills is reduced and the recycled materials result in less “new” stuff being mined/harvested/manufactured.
James asks…
Has there ever been a study on the carbon footprint caused by the so-called green recycling industry?
Recycling is supposed to be the green, environmentally friendly option, but is it really?
Huge fume belching and gas guzzling lorries are used to transport your recycling material from your door to the recycling place.
Hundreds of cars drive every week to their recycling centre, usually with only one person in the car and a box of only half a dozen wine bottles and a few newspapers.
The waste processing plants have lots of heavy machinery which all requires greedy amounts of power.
Some recycling procedures, such as glass and plastic require huge amounts of heat to melt the materials before they can be re-moulded.
All of these things consume vast amounts of our planets natural resources.
But do they consume more or less than they save?
Has there ever been an official study into this?
Kelly L
Firstly, Don’t brand me as an anti-environmentalist. I am simply asking a question to poll peoples opinions. It’s not as if I am not burning down woodlands and pouring bleach into rivers.
Secondly, Don’t assume I am American. I posted this in Yahoo UK & Ireland Answers.
The Expert answers:
I believe it’s long been known that the energy used in cleaning the printing off paper so that it can be recycled far outweighs the energy involved in making new paper. But recycling paper does save a lot of trees. There’s always some trade off.
Helen asks…
Tyre Recycling?
How does tyre recycling work?
Such as recycle to what kind of products, the recycling process……
I want any information about tyre recycling!
tire and tyre are the same things!
Tires or tyres (see American and British English spelling differences)
The Expert answers:
Tires are recycled typically in several ways. After tires are delivered to the recycler, they have the bead removed. This is a tough wire along the inside surface next to where the tire is mounted on the rim. It’s mechanically cut or pulled out. The tire is then fed into a device that cuts it into large chips. The steel belts are removed (though not easily recycled due to the amount of rubber stuck to them) followed by removal of the nylon cords that are also part of the construction of the tire. The remaining rubber is then ground into smaller pieces. Where the two methods differ is that in one method, this is done at room temperature while in the second method, the tires are cooled in liquid nitrogen and cryogenically ground into various sizes from several millimeters in diameter down to a size similar to talcum powder. Larger sizes are often used as-is for ground cover (mulch) or subsurface fill. In the latter case, a layer of tire crumb beneath the topsoil and grass of a park allows the water to percolate quickly from the surface and reduce puddling after rain. Outdoor amphitheaters often use this material. Other sizes can be blended with fresh rubber (non-vulcanized) and fashioned into new products. Things like door mats, floor covering, inexpensive rubber goods can be made in this way and the tire is merely a compatible filler. Several years ago, a trio of companies (ATR, Praxair and Sti-K in Canada) explored methods of revulcanizing recycled tire material. There were some Russian and Malaysian patents on this topic. By careful blending of raw isoprene with finely ground tire crumb along with some other ingredients, and subjecting it to severe shear forces, the rubber from the tires and the fresh isoprene can be combined in a manner that allows it to be revulcanized into more sophisticated rubber goods. To my knowledge, this process has not been commercialized in a large scale but holds the prospect of being able to convert large amounts of tire material into useful products. One use of cryogenically ground tire has been banned in some locations – the use of the material as road or highway fill. Because small amounts of metal may remain in the tire crumb, it is prone to catch fire if compressed in large quantities and in contact with moisture and oxygen. One spectacular case of road-bed fire was reported in the western US several years ago. The only other use of tire material in large quantities is energy recovery where tire material is burned to produce electricity in much the same way coal is burned. Because of sulfur content, this is not a clean process and special care must be taken to prevent excessive air pollution when using tire material in this manner. Another product developed in the late 1990’s was a high-impact composite of recycled tire crumb and resin to produce a tough, chemical and fire resistant – essentially bullet-proof plastic. This formula has been placed into the public domain by NIRIS, Inc. To promote the recycling of tire material into useful products. (It free to use without payment of licensing fees as long as NIRIS is credited with the discovery of the formulation.)
Daniel asks…
What metals are recycled?
What metals are most commonly recycled. Just gimme a big ass list 😛
The Expert answers:
Most commonly recycled metals include iron (and steel), aluminum, copper, lead, silver, gold, zinc, nickel, manganese, titanium, and mercury.
The most commonly recycled metals from household recycling efforts are steel food cans and aluminum beverage cans.
Scrap metal recyclers process primarily scrap iron, steel, aluminum, copper, and lead. Other recyclers specialize in higher-value metals like silver, gold, and mercury. Smaller amounts of metals are recovered as part of the purification process in primary metals recycling.
Nancy asks…
recycling is good or bad?
my family recycles a lot but sometimes i wonder if we are recycling things that shouldn’t be recycled cans that still have remnants of food in them, or milk jugs that still have some milk left in them. Is this bad
The Expert answers:
Recycling is very good but you should take measures to clean up the things you do recycle. My local waste management here has a rule about that. You can’t recycle things that had raw meat in them, or food remnants of any kind. It draws rats and insects to the recycling plant. So try to rinse out the milk jugs and cans. It only takes a few seconds and is worth it.
Charles asks…
the aeroplanes can be recycled?
yes it can be recycled
The Expert answers:
Airplanes are recycled. After an aircraft is removed from service, all parts that can be used for other aircraft are removed, some of them overhauled and installed in other aircraft. The metals are also recycled (aluminium, steel, titanium). Of course not all parts and materials are recycled but a great portion is. Crashed aircraft, depending on the extension of the damage, have only metals recycled and after the crash investigation is over.
Mandy asks…
causes,effects&solutions of recycling?
speech on causes, effects and solutions of recycling.
The Expert answers:
I think recycling has no causes, since there are no causes we don’t need solutions. Yes recycling has effects. It is beneficial for natural resources, environment, humans and it saves energy as well as water. If you want to know why recycle has no causes just prefer some recycling stores. You may check out the following online store:
Linda asks…
Why is recycling so important?
It is hard for me to recycle because I don’t have a car to get to the recycling place.
The Expert answers:
Recycling is very important
1. Our earth is running out of resources. (ex. Trees are being cut down for products, recycle paper to be made into more paper and less are cut down. More trees means more oxygen, more oxygen means cleaner air)
2. Our earth is running out of places to put this trash.
Open air dumps have been banned and landfills take away space for essential buildings so they cut down trees and build building there.
Recycling however also requires a lot of energy to do, but in the long run its worth it.
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