The Expert answers:

Cellophane may not be viable to recycled, it’s really best to avoid buying or even giving things wrapped in cellophane wrap in the first place. However here are some innovative uses for used cellophane wrap – for decorative painting, excellent for cushioning gifts, create sound effects –like crackling fire etc. Recycling helps to preserve our planet from getting polluted and we need to take measures to save our environment by recycling, saving water etc. Fresh water reserve levels are dropping worldwide and we need to take all practical measures to save our planet. For details on how you can save water visit
http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html

The Expert answers:

You may find this list useful if you’re in Canada.

Aluminum cans:
– pop = 5 cents each
– beer = 10 cents each

Plastic/glass bottles & juice boxes:
– pop, water, juice 1L or smaller: 5 cents each
– pop, water, juice larger than 1L: 20 cents each
– beer, wine, cooler 1L or smaller: 10 cents each
– beer, wine, cooler larger than 1L: 20 cents each

Plastic bottles and juice boxes need the cap removed, but glass bottles don’t.

The Expert answers:

Without more information I can’t give more than I did a Bing search, and lots of information came up.
The link is below.
Vintage

The Expert answers:

Recycling plastic takes a lot of energy. It’s not even close to the energy it takes to clean even a gallon of water.

Washing the glass uses MUCH MUCH less resources than recycling plastic.

(Also, it’s actually cheaper to make new plastic than recycle plastic.)

The Expert answers:

Go here, it explains it better than I can:

Recycling Plastic Lids and Caps May Pose Dangers to Workers
Also, plastic caps and lids can jam processing equipment at recycling facilities, and the plastic containers with tops still on them may not compact properly during the recycling process. They can also present a safety risk for recycling workers.
“Most plastic bottles are baled for transport, and if they don’t crack when baled the ones with tightly fastened lids can explode when the temperature increases,” Gilson says.

Http://environment.about.com/od/recycling/a/plastic_lids.htm

The Expert answers:

Recycling plastic is better than throwing it away, but the current system has a some problems. The first is that when plastic is recycled, it is shredded and reconstituted into a lower grade of plastic that has limited uses, such as park benches and jackets and after that they cannot be recycled again. The other problem is that a lot of recycled plastics are PET and when it is used in objects that have long life expectancy such as jackets and benches the plastic can fray and create airborne particles. These particles can cause serious lung and throat irritations so it is best to avoid recycled plastics in enclosed environments. There are several groups working on improving plastic recycling so that it maintains its quality and can be reused again and again, but it is still a few years away.

The Expert answers:

You’ve got to offer them more than their cost to recycle it. A Brooks Brothers suit, shiny shoes, and a nice smile won’t cut it otherwise. Companies who form plastics know exactly what their scrap costs are and you’ve got to show them how it is to their economic advantage to sell it to you.

Most thermoplastic is recycled by the company fabricating it. In this case their value of the scrap is the value of the virgin material less the cost to reuse the scrap. The cost to reuse it might be quite small – something like taking the recycling bin from the back of the fabrication unit to the front. Here the value of the scrap to them is about equal to the virgin material and they won’t do business with you unless you essentially pay what virgin material costs.

On the other hand you may get lucky and find that they can’t reuse it and have to pay to get it hauled away. In this case offering them a low ball price may clinch the deal.

So, the key is in discovering what their economics are to process the scrap. If you beat this you close the deal otherwise you move on. I’d find out who the plant manager is and call him. Tell him you want to stop by and talk about their plastic scrap. You might drive around to the back of the place first (if possible) and check the dumpster. If you find scrap there you’re on your way to closing the deal.

The Expert answers:

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has set a national goal to recycle 25 percent of our national waste. Some plastics can be recycled through curbside recycling, grocery store drop bins or drop-off centers. A raised number (1 through 7) in a triangle on the bottom of most plastic containers tells you what type of plastic it is and if it can be recycled.

Things You’ll Need: Recycle Bins

Step 1:
Call your county’s Department of Public Works or recycling center to determine what type of plastic to recycle and where to take it. Also call 1-800-CLEANUP for state recycling information.

Step 2:
Rinse and sort your plastic containers by number. Recyclable plastic often must be separated by number in order to avoid contamination as it begins the recycling process.

Step 3:
Recycle type 1 (PETE) and type 2 (HDPE) plastic containers at your curb, according to local instructions. Type 1 and 2 containers include some plastic bags, detergent containers, and milk, soft drink, juice, cooking oil and water bottles.

Step 4:
Drop off plastic grocery bags – usually type 4 (LDPE), sometimes type 2, though not always marked – at your grocery store to be recycled. Most large chain grocery stores will have bins located in the store. Types 2 and 4 can be mixed most of the time, but read the signs first to be sure. Clean out bags before recycling.

Step 5:
Call the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers, (410) 451-8340, or visit their Web site to find a local recycling center in your area that will take foam packaging (type 6, Expanded Polystyrene or EPS). Other type 6 items such as plastic utensils will most likely need to be thrown out.

Step 6:
Throw out types 3 (plastic food wrap and vegetable oil bottles), 5 (yogurt containers, syrup bottles, diapers, some bags, most bottle tops and some food wrap) and 7 (layered or mixed plastic). While some of these are recyclable, the plastics industry is still in the early stages of recycling and does not recycle these in most cities unless it is through a test program.

Step 7:
Take caps and pump spray tops off of plastic containers unless they are marked with a number. They are often made from a type of plastic that is different from the main part of the container and generally are not recyclable.

Step 8:
Find out if your community requires you to remove labels from plastic containers before you recycle them.

Step 9:
Crush plastic containers to save space in your recycling bin.

KUDOS TO YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN SAVING THE PLANET! 🙂

The Expert answers:

The recycling of plastics is carried out in a five step process.

Step 1- Plastics collection
This is done through roadside collections, special recycling bins and directly from
industries that use a lot of plastic.

Step 2 – Manual sorting
At this stage nails and stones are removed, and the plastic is sorted into three types: PET,
HDPE and ‘other’.

Step 3 – Chipping
The sorted plastic is cut into small pieces ready to be melted down.

Step 4 – Washing
This stage removes contaminants such as paper labels, dirt and remnants of the product
originally contained in the plastic.

Step 5 – Pelleting
The plastic is then melted down and extruded into small pellets ready for reuse.
Some recycled plastic is then used in applications similar to those for which virgin plastic
is used. The remaining plastic is made into a variety of objects such as drainage mats and
hard board.

The Expert answers:

Look in your local classifieds and check out housekeeping, handing out leaflets, dog-walking, and of course the ever-popular babysitting.
You can recycle, many people wish they were more environmental but just don’t want to expend their own energy. You can take their burden of guilt away by just sending out the message to your neighbors and family friends you’ll come to their house and pick up all of their plastic, aluminum & glass every so often if they’ll just save them in the garage for you. Give them a box will even make it easier for them! You can be your own boss and it’s doing something that’s very helpful.
Also placed some links like craigslist, etc. Where u can view and post your own ads for free! Lastly are some internet jobs you might wish to check out if you’re a lazy bones and would prefer to sit and post…

The Expert answers:

Recycling is processing used materials (waste) into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for “conventional” waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to plastic production.[1][2] Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” waste hierarchy.

There are some ISO standards relating to recycling such as ISO 15270:2008 for plastics waste and ISO 14001:2004 for environmental management control of recycling practice.

Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics. Although similar in effect, the composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste – such as food or garden waste – is not typically considered recycling.[2] Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing.

In the strictest sense, recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same material—for example, used office paper would be converted into new office paper, or used foamed polystyrene into new polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too expensive (compared with producing the same product from raw materials or other sources), so “recycling” of many products or materials involves their reuse in producing different materials (e.g., paperboard) instead. Another form of recycling is the salvage of certain materials from complex products, either due to their intrinsic value (e.g., lead from car batteries, or gold from computer components), or due to their hazardous nature (e.g., removal and reuse of mercury from various items). Critics dispute the net economic and environmental benefits of recycling over its costs, and suggest that proponents of recycling often make matters worse and suffer from confirmation bias. Specifically, critics argue that the costs and energy used in collection and transportation detract from (and outweigh) the costs and energy saved in the production process; also that the jobs produced by the recycling industry can be a poor trade for the jobs lost in logging, mining, and other industries associated with virgin production; and that materials such as paper pulp can only be recycled a few times before material degradation prevents further recycling. Proponents of recycling dispute each of these claims, and the validity of arguments from both sides has led to enduring controversy.

The Expert answers:

Geography is reasonably well respected by most employers and I’ve given you a list of jobs where geography might come in handy one way or another. Some of the jobs are more directly linked to geography than others.

Geography involves a lot of teamwork, research, analysis and broad thinking – all of which employers like. I hated geography at school – it was DULL. But I actually did it for my degree and I enjoyed it. There aren’t many subjects where you can study volcanoes, environmental management, world culture, media representation and the social effects of communism all in one year but geography is one of them.

Environmental campaign organiser
Teacher
Social worker
Youth and community worker
Emergency services manager
FE or university lecturer
Museum explainer
Exhibition designer and curator
Health education campaigner
Advertising executive
Human resources officer
Campaign organiser
Market research analyst
Public policy research
Marketing
PR (Public Relations) Officer

Conservation worker
Environmental health officer
Architect or urban planner for sustainable projects
Environmental engineer
Landscape architecture
Pollution analyst
Cycle route planner
Recycling officer
Forestry manager
SSSI warden
Environmental consultant
Environmental impact officer

Financial risk assessor
Insurance
Transport / logistics manager
Retail management
Management consultant
Economic adviser and analyst
Buyer
Location analyst

Geography graduates have excellent transferable skills which attracts business, law and finance sectors.

Expedition leader
Travel agent
Exhibitions coordinator
Leisure centre management
Heritage site manager
Eco Tour guide
Tourist information officer
Visit (London) guide
Travel writer
TV researcher
Holiday representative
Cultural arts officer 2012
TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher

The Expert answers:

I can see your question didn’t post….. My dream job is to be a Playboy Playmate but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Lol

The Expert answers:

For most things, especially metals, the effect is essentially positive. Some people will argue that recycling consumes a lot of energy, but so does extracting resources from underground, refining them, and transporting them over long distances. Recycling not only eliminates the need to extract these resources from under the earth, but the materials are already refined and are usually only transported within about 200 miles.

For example, when aluminum is mined (in the form of bauxite ore), only about one quarter of what comes out of the ground can be refined into the pure aluminum that we use for cans, foil, airplanes, etc. The process is extremely energy intensive, uses a huge amount of water, and is generally destructive to the land.

Furthermore, much of the bauxite ore from around the world comes from Brazil, Australia, China, and Russia. Depending on where you live, this could means thousands of miles of transport.

When you recycle an aluminum can, however, you are taking the already-pure product and only transporting it around your general region. It goes from your house to the local recycling plant to the local aluminum manufacturer. The process is much more energy efficient and usually puts the aluminum back on the store shelves within 60 days.

To add to this, it also helps your community, as it gives jobs to workers within your general vicinity and keeps the money from leaving your local economy.

The Expert answers:

Name – DataRecovery

Download URL – http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html

Developer – Brian Kato

OS – Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP

File Size – 556 KB (zipped)

Supported Software Versions or File Systems – FAT12/FAT16/FAT32/NTFS. Compressed files of NTFS are supported. However, encrypted files of NTFS are not supported so far.

Developer Provided Description – “Restore files which are deleted from the recycle bin or deleted while holding down the Shift key by mistake. Conversely, this program has another function that makes it almost impossible to restore all deleted files. You can use it after deletion of confidential documents, embarrassing files and so on.”

Comment – May be the simplest undelete freeware. Great for quick jobs. Extremely popular.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name – NTFS File Undeleter

Download URL – http://tokiwa.tomato.ne.jp/EN/DataRecovery_EN.zip

Developer – Tokiwa

OS – Windows95/98/Me/NT4.0/2000/XP/2003

File Size – 149 KB

Supported Software Versions or File Systems – FAT12/16/32/NTFS

Developer Provided Description – “DataRecovery is freeware and written by TOKIWA
to undelete accidentally deleted files even from recycle bin. But DataRecovery doesn’t assure that all files deleted can be recovered successfully. It mostly depends on your system/configuration and we can’t support each of all that varieties.

Key-features

1 FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS undeletion
2 undelete whole files in a directory in a single click
3 search by partial string in the file name
4 runnable from floppy disk
5 undelete NTFS compressed files
6 undelete EFS encrypted files”

Comment – Seemed to work fine with floppy but said there were’nt enough resources for the C: drive.

The Expert answers:

Okay I am in the EXACT same social situation at my job. I have resulted in crying because I hated life there SO MUCH. I sit in the corner doing work-I work with the county/gov recycling dept. Doing data entry-just typing businesses names in the country that recycle into different computer data bases. Really easy and stupid job. I digress.

Now, I sit in the corner and type all day-and never get talked to. NEVER. I have complained to my boss and he said that I don’t make an effort to talk-and I DO..but at the same time, I don’t care to be buddy/buddy and overly friendly-because that is how drama starts and it is some what easier not to talk at all.
This is a temp job until this coming February. So it won’t be forever-but I have such a hard time sticking with a full time job with more duties because of my learning disability that I feel I am stuck at this job.

I do go to school and will be starting classes in the fall for Criminal Justice.
This job I have now also has nothing at all with what I want to do-and I have made that VERY CLEAR to them.

Anyway, for about a year I have been applying to jobs and have told them that if I do find another job I am leaving. About every day I go into work I tell them I want to leave and find something else.

So….I suggest you really find something else. You are going to school and getting married-and you do NOT need that job. You need the money sure but….you need to try applying for something else in the mean time.

You know you are leaving, so why not leave now?! Why won’t your boss give references? See, I would not even put this job on the resume because it’s nothing but drama and crap and when you do find another job in the future, they will call your current boss and clearly they will say bad things about you. YOU KNOW they don’t care, so why stay?

You need to tell them BEFORE you leave-2 weeks before you leave that you are quitting and when you return you will be quitting the job. Do not wait until you come back because that is not leaving them enough time.

You KNOW you are quitting-so just tell them now. That way, when you come back, you won’t have to deal with them anymore.

And find another job now, so when you come back, you won’t be jobless.

Hope I helped and just know that I am on the same path as you- ignorant ppl at jobs.

The Expert answers:

I am glad to meet someone else who is like me and recycles.
Our family is very enviormentaly aware.
But, in order to help the world even more you should do the whole 3RC. That is, Recyle, Reuse, Reduce, and Compost.
You got the recyling part down pat…good job!
Also, reuse things that can be used again. Like wrapping paper and bags!
Reduce the amound of trash by giving clothes to thrift shops or take hand-me-downs!
And, compost. You can compost almost any food types except eggs.
Happy Recycling!

The Expert answers:

Well you could ask your manager for a couple of hours more a week, or look for job that pays more,you could also try recycling,or re-sale things,ask people for things that they don’t want anymore,buy cheap things at yard sales and have your own yard sale every sat or sun.Let me tell you what my son did when he was 8 yrs old,he said to me,mom can you make me three more sandwiches today for lunch,for school,so I did thinking he wanted to shared with his friends,well when he came home he said to me mom half of this $3.75 is yours,where did you get this money from?he said,I sold the sandwiches for $1.25 each,so half is yours,about two weeks after he had money again so I asked him where he got the money from so he said remember the 12 pack of pencils you bought me at the .99 store,well I sold each pencil for .25 cts,so you get what I am trying to say,and he was only 8 yrs old at the time,he is 20 now and he buys and sales car at auctions (he has his license) he also sales things through the internet.

The Expert answers:

People offer them to me for free all the time and I want nothing to do with them—I have a 36″ line doubled Sony with matching stand sitting in my garage that works fine and have not been able to sell it for over a year—asking $250—last 3 months i’ve offered it for $100 and have had no takers. Thing wieghs 315 lbs (tv only)

The Expert answers:

Try searching for a local aluminium company such as Alcoa, they often have inner city buildings that might do it.

The Expert answers:

CMC Metal Recycling (Austin) 710 Industrial Blvd.
Austin, TX 78745

Mailing:
PO BOX 19169
Austin, TX 78760
Phone: 512.442.2384
Fax: 512.447.7575

Main E-Mail: Mimi.Rhea@cmcsg.com

Buy & Sell Ferrous Metals
Buy & Sell Non-Ferrous Metals
Buy Junked,Wrecked or Running Autos,Trucks & Buses
Car Crushing & Hauling
Industrial Scrap Container Service
New & Usable Steel Products
Scrap Processing Yards
I just called and they pay .66 cents per pound.
Good Luck sound like a great fundraiser.

The Expert answers:

You can usually cash in recyclables at private recycling facilities. Check out these directories for more information: http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/Land/recyclingandoperationsprogram/pages/programs/landprograms/recycling/index.aspx
http://maryland.uscity.net/Recycling_Centers/
http://www.recyclingcenters.org/Maryland/

There are also other ways of earning money from recycling like depositing your recyclable items at PepsiCo Dream Machine and Greenopolis Kioks. Recyclebank and Waste Management also give incentives to households that recycle frequently. Visit http://www.youtube.com/greenopolistv and find the videos about Greenpolis and Dream Machine kiosks to know more.

The Expert answers:

Metal and glass have a ready market, but it would depend on the daily metal price as to how much you got.Same with paper and other materials.

In reality, only the sort of volume a municipal waste recycling plant handles would generate enough cans and bottles to make something selling them.

However, many people living on the streets scrape a living trading things like old cans and glass for cash. A full supermarket trolliey of cans might get you a few dollars.

Here in the UK, there used to be a soft drinks bottle deposit scheme, where you paid a few pennies on top of the price of the soft drink, which you got back when returning the empty bottle. I made a little pocket money that way when a kid, collecting empties thrown away and trading them in.The manufacturers managed to get it stopped, by lobbying the politicians.

Some metals are more valuable than others, like nickel, aluminium and lead.Usually the scrap yard uses a gadget to test for what type of metal it is, unless it is clearly steel or whatever.

You can make some money, but can be a lot of work for not much of a reward.

The Expert answers:

Arca Recycling Inc – www.recycleelectronics.com
289 Lyman Rd, Casselberry – (407) 834-5928

Orlando Scrap Metal Recycling – www.orlandoscrapmetal.com
18778 E Colonial Dr, Orlando – (407) 568-3666

Robert Wallick Associates Inc – www.rwarecycling.com
531 Susan B. Britt Court, Winter Garden – (407) 656-5060

The Expert answers:

In the US, loose Used Beverage Cans are worth $0.30 to $0.61 per pound which is $0.010 to $0.018 per can. Here is a list of places in Denver where you can recycle – and get cash: All Recycling, Atlas Metal and Iron, The Can Man Recycling http://www.thecanmanrecycling.com/, C & M Iron & Metal Co, Do More Recycling, Iron & Metals Inc., Metal Management West, Inc, Mountain Electronics Recycling, Rocky Mountain Recycling http://www.mountainrecycling.com/, Waste Management Recycle America, Western Metals Recycling http://www.wmrecycling.com/, and Wise Recycling.

The Expert answers:

The answer to your question will depend on where you live. Look up aluminum recycling in your local phone book and make a few calls. But generally, you’ll have to do a lot of can recycling in order to make a significant profit.

If you do not have the means for the phone you want, perhaps selling one or two items on eBay would be a faster and simpler way to earn extra cash.

The Expert answers:

Http://www.co.anoka.mn.us/v2_dept/iwm/show-item-info.aspx?id=32

Locations for: Aluminum Cans for Cash

In Minnesota, you can usually redeem cans for cash at recycling centers and local metal recycling businesses. There are several resources for finding a place to redeem cans.

Your county solid waste office. In some cases, particularly outside the Twin Cities metro area, the county owns or operates the local recycling center and can redeem your cans. To find your county recycling contact,

http://www.recycleminnesota.org/htm/ReCounty.htm

In the metro area, there are several RAM members that will redeem cans.
Dakota County Eco-Site in Eagan, 651-905-4520.
Kaplan’s Metal Reduction in St. Paul, 651-222-8551.
American Iron in North Minneapolis, 612-529-9221

The Expert answers:

NO. NO. NO!

Burning ANYTHING is the worst. Garbage normally would biodegrade, and release it’s nutrients and composition in the ground. Burning it, forces it to turn into ash and fly up into the atmosphere. That’s how there’s smog.

If you can, try composting. Place the paper products in yard waste bins, or bury it in a hole somewhere.

Cardboard and sheets of paper can of course be recycled.

The Expert answers:

Look for “Ruffie” brand of garbage bags. I know they have pink and blue. They are considered recycling bags for some places.

The Expert answers:

Ive made a garbage bag dress out of 1 garbage bag, needle thread and cheetah print duct tape came out cute.all depends on what products u want to use

The Expert answers:

More power to you elbow – if only everybody acted like you!

Most ‘soft’ plastic bags are Low Density Polythene – No.4 in the chart! I just collect all these and put them in the carrier bag recycling bin at the supermarket.

Hard plastics, again I just collect these and take them to the recycling centre/tip/dump at the end of Straight Road in Colchester where there is a skip for them.

One of the difficulties with the coding system is that it was introduced by the Plastic Federation some years ago as a way of identifying what type of plastic a product had been made from. Unfortunately they saw fir to put this number in the recycling triangle to appear to us that they were environmentally friendly. In fact all they were doing was easing their collective consciouses as, at the time, there wasn’t the technology, desire or end products to recycle all plastics.

Expanded polystyrene is the hardest to recycle because there are so few collection and recycling plants in the country – the last time I looked there were only two! It is also one of the worst for volume and chemical damage.

Theoretically all plastics 1-6 can be recycled because of their chemical composition but there has to be:
– a method of collection
– the technology/plant to carry out the recycling
– products that can be made from the recycled plastic
– products people will buy

Realistically, only when there is the political will and clout to reduce the number of plastics used to only those that can readily be recycled (or use different materials) will the much maligned consumer be much clearer about their environmental responsibilities.

The Expert answers:

Paper lunch bags work great. Get the recycled kind.

As far as garbage bags, they sell biodegradable ones now, and if enough people start buying them the price will go way down. Still they’re only as expensive as the brand name trash bags anyway.

The Expert answers:

No idea…. Use.. Two garbage bags… Doesnt matter anyway. They put all garbage together when it gets burned anyway,

Kolbjoern
http://www.bestbuycamera.org

The Expert answers:

Each recycling company has different policies. It is very true that they will often throw away a whole load if it’s mixed with too much unrecyclable material, (or will fine you and refuse to pick it up from your curb) but it really depends on the company.

I think the best solution really would be to contact your recycling company. I contacted mine and they sent me a pamphlet with the exact details of what they do and don’t accept. Also, some of them have this information on their websites. This should explain how clean an item should be, and what sorts of things they don’t take.

Here are a few pieces of advice:
* You should rinse your recyclables, but there shouldn’t be any need to scrub them as clean as you would your dishes. Thirty seconds of hot water is probably more than enough for that empty can of crushed tomatoes or empty margarine tub. Most recycling centres say there should be no more than 5% food particles on the surface. Like someone else here said, it’s more an issue in attracting pests and growing mould and disease as the item waits for weeks in a pile to be processed, and not as much an issue in whether or not the big cleaning machines can clean it thoroughly enough.

* If you can remember some of the key items that they don’t take (mine doesn’t take plastic bags or plastic tubs), you can make sure to save those items aside and dispose of them elsewhere. Save up a trunk load and take them to the city recycling centre, where they will accept almost anything recyclable that commingled recycling won’t take, even old aerosol cans. You can also try to reuse items that you are unable to recycle, like margarine tubs. (http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/margarine-tubs-with-clear-lids.html)

The rest of this doesn’t answer your question as much. Still I’m writing it for anyone who might be interested.

“Reduce” is better than “recycle” . . .
* Reducing is key, of course. More than anything else. Really try to avoid purchasing anything in a package. Packaging is the majority of your recycling, but sadly, much of the packaging on stuff isn’t recyclable. This is why most people have more garbage than recycling. You can start in easy ways by bringing your own reusable bags for grocery shopping, then work your way up to more involved stuff, like buying in bulk (this is where leftover margarine tubs are useful) and cooking mostly fresh foods and avoiding those prepackaged, just-add-water foodlike products. This is a little more time consuming, but it saves a load of money, so it’s well worth the effort. Also, when you buy things in packages, buy the big packages when you can, if you are going to use that much food! For example, you might want to buy the big burlap bags of basmati or jasmine rice rather than the little 1 kilo plastic bags of boring and untasty rice. This is also very cost effective.

And since “reuse” also takes precedence over “recycle” . . .
* Buy used stuff from thrift stores when you can, rather than buying new stuff. This is better for some things (like lamps and furniture) than other things (like underpants). This gets into the whole idea of recycling stuff, and not just packaging, but can save a lot of stuff from the landfill, which is kind of the whole point of recycling. And on that same point . . .

* If you break something and can’t repair it, try giving it away through your local Freecycle group before you throw it away. If someone out there with a knack for sewing upholstery will take that couch that your dog peed on and your cat scratched up, then you have just saved way more from the landfill than a month of regular household recycling could.

I hope that helped!

The Expert answers:

Sorting is ONLY done in recycling operations. Nor in trash dumps.

Generally in trash dumps, there are bulldozers that move the stuff around.
During that process, the bags get chewed up by the treads of the dozer.
Having the dozer run over the stuff compacts it.
The dozer’s main job is to spread the trash out, flatten it, and compact it, so the trucks can have a place to drive over and dump more stuff.

The Expert answers:

No doubt a whole lot! Wanna help? Use the colorful comic section of newspaper, it can be recycled afterwards, so can your wrapping paper in some places. Or put gifts in cloth bags that can later be used at the grocery stores.

For the last 3 weeks I’ve been weighing the cans, bottles, plastics, and mixed paper my husband I produce. So far the total is 19.5 lbs for glass/can/plastics and 14.5 lbs. Of mixed paper (not including newspaper b/c I’m saving for X-mas and paper mache art). That’s just 2 people for 3 weeks!

The Expert answers:

As the other poster mentions, it requires toxic chemicals, namely highly corrosive acid. It not a pretty process, nor is it easy, or very environmentally friendly, since all of the waste is not very easy to dispose of. If you live in a city, your neighbors will certainly notice the smell, and likely turn you into the police, suspecting you of running a meth lab.

If you google for ‘gold recovery’ you will find websites dedicated to this sort of thing. Most of them want your money for their kits containing the chemicals and instructions.

To be honest, its probably far more work than its worth. A circuit board, processor or connector does not have very much gold on it – a few hundred milligrams at best. A CPU might have a few dollars worth of the stuff, but the work involved in the entire process, as well as the cleanup and the cost of the chemicals makes such schemes a losing proposition.

IMHO the only people making money from this sort of thing is the people selling the kits.

The Expert answers:

Scan your PC with both of these.
Superantispyware free edition.
Http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

Malwarebytes free version.
Http://www.malwarebytes.org/

It may be necessary to use them in safe mode. This is how to use safe mode.
Http://www.pchell.com/support/safemode.shtml

The Expert answers:

No free ads. Both of them charge to advertise. Between $15 and $40.

You could call a reporter for the paper and ask if she will interview you about your band. That would get a lot more interest than a small ad. You could get discovered. If that works, call the local tv station and offer to appear at 6am.

The Expert answers:

You add some oil and then check the level. If it does not touch the bottom of the threads, you add more. Do not overfill or it will affect the performance of your mower.

The oil should be measured every time you use the mower as the mower will consume some oil through “ring blow by”. Measure the oil when the motor is not running. It makes no difference if you run the motor first or not, as the motor does not retain oil up in it’s moving parts like a car engine.

The Expert answers:

If the primer portion is a red rubber bulb,replace it as it can crack after a few years of service.

The Expert answers:

Your computer is infected by the “Recycler virus”. Follow this:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4885725_remove-recycler-virus.html

The Expert answers:

These are the tools which may help you here:

Malware bytes antimalware

Flash disinfector

Autorun eater

Some even say, kaspersky antivirus also cleans this virus

I am not giving away the direct links to these tools because I want you to search them on google which may help you find right solutions which in turn provide you the best tutorials on these tools.

The Expert answers:

I recycle ever thing except garbage. Why wait until someone else starts the clean up. That may be awhile. We could use the help now. It’s your earth.

The Expert answers:

When you delete a file in Windows Explorer it’s not only moved to a RECYCLER folder, but it’s moved into a user-specific folder within it. So the files you delete are in the Recycle Bin and they’re kept separately from the files deleted by other users on the same machine.

And when you empty your Recycle Bin? You’re only emptying your Recycle Bin. The other users Recycle Bins are not affected.

Http://ask-leo.com/why_is_there_more_than_one_recycler_folder_on_my_machine_and_why_dont_they_all_empty_when_i_empty_the_recycle_bin.html

The Expert answers:

“are located”
“be recycled”
“picked up”
“are used”
“are probably surrounded”
“are made up”

“being destroyed”
“be reused”
“are found”
“belonged”
“are collected”
“are cut up”
“is thought”

“are believed”
“is considered”
“is often said”
“is regarded”

The Expert answers:

Yes you can recycle them if they have the right number on them. The plants that process the plastic have ways to clean them.

The Expert answers:

You will have to ask the companies that contracted to dispose of the waste. Likely they haven’t told anyone outside of the company where it is going. It was probably scheduled to be burned or land filled (in country) and this was cheaper for them. (LOL not cheaper now!)

The Expert answers:

Let A = number of containers of aluminum and G = number of containers of glass

Total weight of the transport would be 300A + 900G </= 22,000
Total volume of the transport would be 60A + 75G </= 1740

Revenue of the transport would be 100A + 80G and that is the formula that you want to maximize. A maximum (or minimum) is reached when the derivative is set to zero.

You could use the second expression, above, to solve for G in terms of A:
75G = 1740 – 60A and G = 23.2 – 0.8A
Substituting that into the last expression:
100A + 80(23.2 – 0.8A)
100A – 64A + 1856
36A + 1856

The Expert answers:

I’m breaking down you’re entire question, cause I’m open-minded.

1) Using trees to create construction materials creates income, jobs, and allows new growth of timber to come in and keep the ecosystem they are growing on in balance. Also, 90% of the ares where plantations of yellow pine are located did not use to be forested. They were cotton plantations, but then later converted in forest plantations after thousands of acres of cotton were lost to an insect, which completely ruined the economy for cotton. It does more good for the environment by keeping trees growing there for 25 years, then cutting them down for materials. Plus, in pines, trees only do the most efficient work at collecting and storing carbon during their young years. The older they get, the less absorbing they do. So which is better?

2) Recycled cargo containers are an awesome idea, one which I may even pursue when I go to build my first home. However, building codes and such in the United States would have to be completely rewritten in order to support recycled cargo containers. Plus, the developers (who really put a lot of money and investment into the economy) would lose, and we would be in an even worse hell than we are now I believe.

3) Pallets are not necessarily the best building material you can use. Even though it would be good to recycle them for building, that is not what pallets were designed for. Pallet material comes off of the slabs of the logs, which is mostly sap-wood which is younger and not strong compared to the heart-wood which 2×4’s and such come from. You endanger lives when you use sap-wood for building material. Notice how it’s not long before pallets break apart and wither away?

The Expert answers:

Our pharmacy will refill the pill bottles if you bring in the old ones.

The Expert answers:

People use their knowledge of recycling (or energy conservation, etc) as cover for their wasteful practices. This gets more into psychology, so your experiment would need to test subjects on their knowledge of the conservation area, then test them at a later date about their actual energy use, recycling habits, etc.

The Expert answers:

As recently as the 1980’s each household had one small (compared to today’s wheelies) metal dustbin which took all the family waste – irrespective of how many members where in that family. These were emptied weekly; I cannot remember what happened when a Bank Holiday occured. Today we have a bin for general waste, a bin for recycling waste, a bin for compostable waste, as well as many local clothes/shoes/etc collection point bins. There are also many recycling centres where you can take anything and everything from cardboard to electrical items no longer working or needed. Each household bin is emptied fortnightly: the general waste in week 1, the recycling and compostable waste in week 2.

The point I am making is that with so many receptacles for our household waste there should be no need to fill up any one of these quicker than every fortnight? Of course, if people can’t be bothered to separate their waste or to wash out tins and bottles and put them in the recycling bin – but choose instead to just chuck everything in the general waste bin – then they face the consequences of overflowing bins before they are due to be collected. As usual the issue really comes down to a ‘choices have consequences’ one.

As for disposable nappies, if a household finds that they need a bin for these alone then there are 2 choices open: (1) contact your local authority and ask if you can have either a larger bin or another one and explain the reasons why. Some councils will oblige. Those who don’t leave option (2) as a solution. That is to collect all nappies into one large bin bag and when full take it to the nearest recycling centre.

There is usually a workable solution as against just complaining.

The Expert answers:

Contact the carbon trust – (link below). They should be able to offer most solutions, but I see after changing to greener methods, you still need a service industry to take away recyclates.

I had thought of doing this for commercial firms – producing manufacturing waste, but why not offices too?

The Expert answers:

Obviously not, once the significance of the recycling bin was ascertained. If we were throwing things out in order to recycle them, we obviously aren’t hoarding them.

The Expert answers:

Call your local utilities provider and congrats for caring.

The Expert answers:

Further to snookler et al, they end up in third world countries, or op shops in not so poor countries.

In third world countries they are a mixed blessing. The clothes get sold at prices well below new clothes as you would expect. So a larger proportion of the population can buy presentable clothes.

In this country for instance, people, now that second hand shops have become the norm, wear “better” clothes than they used to. However the sight of people wearing totally inappropriate clothes is a bit weird, an evening dress as street wear, a printed T shirt worn by some poor unsuspecting illiterate with obscene or offensive messages on it, pj’s worn as street apparal etc.

Then there is the economic impact, over the last 30 years most urban vegetable markets anda good 30% of retail outlets have been converted to second hand clothes outlets, indead it is a boom industry. There used to be a vibrant indiginous clothes industry, that has virtually been wiped out. Who will buy an average quality new shirt, when you can get a near new designer label for a fraction of the price? The social impact is also not all positive. Nor are the overall ethics, even though generally the intentions are good.

As to who collects, many NGO’s make it their business, some councils do, but that is more of an exception. Also several regular businesses are involved.

And some clothes end up as industrial rags and others ar fibres to be made into felt, matress stuffing packaging materials and a significant portion eds up as fibres added to paper pult to make a fine hight strength paper.

The Expert answers:

Mine were stolen so I put my recyclables in a box. I hate thieves

The Expert answers:

Different colour boxes may be for different things like the yellow box for paper blue box for glass and green for card.
You should ask your local council for details
some bin men wont take rubbish if placed in wrong bin like ours
you shouldn’t have to buy a wheelie bin your council should provide that for free.

The Expert answers:

No. I do not keep my sins in a storage bin. Nor even in the crevice of my brain. When I pray, I ask God to Forgive me , for all my sins. Then like magic, they disappear. But the next day, I try hard to not sin and ask God to Guide me. Ask God to Forgive me. That is what I do. I learn from my sins and try hard not to repeat them.

The Expert answers:

In some cities, it is illegal to put household or business trash in public receptacles. Some are concerned that some business owners may put rubbish in the public bins to save $$ since they must pay for trash pick up. There is also concerns of illegal basement apartments who empty their trash in public areas.

If you are interested in recycling bins in public places you can contact your City Council, Mayor or Legislator.
Perhaps they can initiate a pilot public recycling program where barrels can be placed in high traffic areas. Some cities have had recycling barrels donated by corporations such as Coca Cola. There are also grants available that can offset the costs.
Your representative can work with the Department of Sanitation who may have collection resources and partnerships with business improvement districts. With careful planning by the Sanitation Department, this public recycling will have virtually little or no impact on the City’s budget or on taxpayers.

The Expert answers:

I’m pretty sure it depends on by region. In the Southern California region, which is taken care of by EDCO, the recycling bins for residential areas are blue and traditional trash cans are grey.

Also, in the blue cans you can put paper, glass, aluminum cans, and some forms of plastic containers. Normal trash goes in the grey can. Homeowners have to use their own cans or regular black trash bags for any trash from the environment (raking up leaves, Palm Fronds, freshly mowed grass etc)

The Expert answers:

Usually once the garbage is thrown out it is no longer considered property and therefore it is legal to rummage through the trash.

What is NOT legal is trespassing in area way, private alleys or other private property to take the bottles from the trash.

The Expert answers:

You want facts? If she said she is being recycled back to day one, then she probably did something. However if she is being recycled back to day one, she is not stuck. She will just start over and continue training. They would not spend the time recycling her and training her if she was going to be discharged, so dont worry about that. In the event that something happened, to where she would be discharged out of the Marines, she will contact you and make you aware so that traveling arragements can be met. I know it is impossible for you because you care about your daugter so much, but you have to sit back and relax and let the Marines do their job. We are very good at it, and if you have any serious problems. Contact her recruiter and in case of emergency he can contact her drill instructor. Dont accept no for an answer from a recruiter. And if this did not explain it good enough for you, you can call me at 931 265 7017 and i will be happy to clear anything up for you

The Expert answers:

Let me start of by saying I hate getting into these debates. They only frustrate me. But I will because you seem confused on this very important topic. Why is it so important? Because it is one of the main aspects that seperates the 2 main american parties. Some Democrats believe that Multimillion dollar corporations stand for Evil because they think that the rich get their money through…dishonest means. This is in fact sometimes the case. The Enron and MCI scandals in the late 1990s were prime examples of this. Another reason for the Democrats’ distrust of corporations is because when the party started taking shape it to what we know it as today, FDR’s New Deal Policies came into effect. The heroes of that era (such as the Roosevelts) were trustbusters, helping the common man prevail over “evil” business interests. And at the time, it was a perfect idea. The problem is that those policies were so successful that the same mindset of hating businesses has carried over to today.
The majority of businesses make their money through honest means. You are correct in believing that Capitalism is part of the American dream, and it should not be supressed. That leads me to my last point. *Because some people do not have the drive and determination to work hard and advance in society (Im not talking about people who can’t, I’m talking about people just dont want to because its too hard) end up hating and despizing those who do have the determination to succeed.* They tend to want what they don’t have. This is my main problem with the Democratic party, they do not want to work for what they have, they would rather have things given to them through other people’s hard work. This is an unfortunite fact that does not stand for everyone in the party, just the majority. Why do I think this way? My father came to America in the 1950s. He was just a baby. His parents had no money to start a new life. My father grew up using only what he was able to afford, which was not much. He was never encouraged. He had to do everything on his own. With the exception of his father, every other member of his family had some mental sidorder, be it a memory disease or something like sckitzofrenia (did I spell that right?). He found work mowing lawns and doing other jobs for people. He recycled trash from local trash cans just to scrape by. But he did. Because of his great grades in school, and through saving everything he had, he earned enough money to buy his own car and pay for college at one of the nations top universities. And he had no help doing this. He got married, got a job, and his family never had to go through the hardships he had as a kid. His family works hard, but comfortably. His drive to succeed parallels what business owners have, and that shoudn’t be taken away from those fortunite few.

As you can probably tell, I lean Republican. I find it imperative to find the truths in people’s actions and make conclusions from them. But when you look at the given answers here, there’s only one. One answer to your thought out question. Perhaps it is because you wanted, “well thought out answers primarily from Democrats.” There is not reasonable explanation for their current hatred of business.

So, if anyone else does decise to post an answer here, please vote for the best answer! And really do that! Because I am waiting, and have been, for someone to prove me wrong for years. Good luck in your endevors!

The Expert answers:

Your conclusion is your opportunity to wrap up your essay in a tidy package and bring it home for your reader. It is a good idea to recapitulate what you said in your Thesis Statement in order to suggest to your reader that you have accomplished what you set out to accomplish. It is also important to judge for yourself that you have, in fact, done so. If you find that your thesis statement now sounds hollow or irrelevant — that you haven’t done what you set out to do — then you need either to revise your argument or to redefine your thesis statement. Don’t worry about that; it happens to writers all the time. They have argued themselves into a position that they might not have thought of when they began their writing. Writing, just as much as reading, is a process of self discovery. Do not, in any case, simply restate your thesis statement in your final paragraph, as that would be redundant. Having read your essay, we should understand this main thought with fresh and deeper understanding, and your conclusion wants to reflect what we have learned.

There are some cautions we want to keep in mind as we fashion our final utterance. First, we don’t want to finish with a sentimental flourish that shows we’re trying to do too much. It’s probably enough that our essay on recycling will slow the growth of the landfill in Hartford’s North Meadows. We don’t need to claim that recycling our soda bottles is going to save the world for our children’s children. (That may be true, in fact, but it’s better to claim too little than too much; otherwise, our readers are going to be left with that feeling of “Who’s he/she kidding?”) The conclusion should contain a definite, positive statement or call to action, but that statement needs to be based on what we have provided in the essay.

Second, the conclusion is no place to bring up new ideas. If a brilliant idea tries to sneak into our final paragraph, we must pluck it out and let it have its own paragraph earlier in the essay. If it doesn’t fit the structure or argument of the essay, we will leave it out altogether and let it have its own essay later on. The last thing we want in our conclusion is an excuse for our readers’ minds wandering off into some new field. Allowing a peer editor or friend to reread our essay before we hand it in is one way to check this impulse before it ruins our good intentions and hard work.

Never apologize for or otherwise undercut the argument you’ve made or leave your readers with the sense that “this is just little ol’ me talking.” Leave your readers with the sense that they’ve been in the company of someone who knows what he or she is doing. Also, if you promised in the introduction that you were going to cover four points and you covered only two (because you couldn’t find enough information or you took too long with the first two or you got tired), don’t try to cram those last two points into your final paragraph. The “rush job” will be all too apparent. Instead, revise your introduction or take the time to do justice to these other points.

Here is a brief list of things that you might accomplish in your concluding paragraph(s).* There are certainly other things that you can do, and you certainly don’t want to do all these things. They’re only suggestions:

include a brief summary of the paper’s main points.
Ask a provocative question.
Use a quotation.
Evoke a vivid image.
Call for some sort of action.
End with a warning.
Universalize (compare to other situations).
Suggest results or consequences.

The Expert answers:

Your conclusion is your opportunity to wrap up your essay in a tidy package and bring it home for your reader. It is a good idea to recapitulate what you said in your Thesis Statement in order to suggest to your reader that you have accomplished what you set out to accomplish. It is also important to judge for yourself that you have, in fact, done so. If you find that your thesis statement now sounds hollow or irrelevant — that you haven’t done what you set out to do — then you need either to revise your argument or to redefine your thesis statement. Don’t worry about that; it happens to writers all the time. They have argued themselves into a position that they might not have thought of when they began their writing. Writing, just as much as reading, is a process of self discovery. Do not, in any case, simply restate your thesis statement in your final paragraph, as that would be redundant. Having read your essay, we should understand this main thought with fresh and deeper understanding, and your conclusion wants to reflect what we have learned.

There are some cautions we want to keep in mind as we fashion our final utterance. First, we don’t want to finish with a sentimental flourish that shows we’re trying to do too much. It’s probably enough that our essay on recycling will slow the growth of the landfill in Hartford’s North Meadows. We don’t need to claim that recycling our soda bottles is going to save the world for our children’s children. (That may be true, in fact, but it’s better to claim too little than too much; otherwise, our readers are going to be left with that feeling of “Who’s he/she kidding?”) The conclusion should contain a definite, positive statement or call to action, but that statement needs to be based on what we have provided in the essay.

Second, the conclusion is no place to bring up new ideas. If a brilliant idea tries to sneak into our final paragraph, we must pluck it out and let it have its own paragraph earlier in the essay. If it doesn’t fit the structure or argument of the essay, we will leave it out altogether and let it have its own essay later on. The last thing we want in our conclusion is an excuse for our readers’ minds wandering off into some new field. Allowing a peer editor or friend to reread our essay before we hand it in is one way to check this impulse before it ruins our good intentions and hard work.

Never apologize for or otherwise undercut the argument you’ve made or leave your readers with the sense that “this is just little ol’ me talking.” Leave your readers with the sense that they’ve been in the company of someone who knows what he or she is doing. Also, if you promised in the introduction that you were going to cover four points and you covered only two (because you couldn’t find enough information or you took too long with the first two or you got tired), don’t try to cram those last two points into your final paragraph. The “rush job” will be all too apparent. Instead, revise your introduction or take the time to do justice to these other points.

Here is a brief list of things that you might accomplish in your concluding paragraph(s).* There are certainly other things that you can do, and you certainly don’t want to do all these things. They’re only suggestions:

include a brief summary of the paper’s main points.
Ask a provocative question.
Use a quotation.
Evoke a vivid image.
Call for some sort of action.
End with a warning.
Universalize (compare to other situations).
Suggest results or consequences.

Http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/endings.htm

The Expert answers:

Depending on how severe your dental problems are, they may simply put you on delayed entry. The bad thing with that is that you may lose your reserved job selection. You will go through a in depth physical prior to going anywhere at your local MEPS, so it’s best you try not to pass it off. BMT may be stressful for you, and “killer” toothaches won’t make things easier. What does your recuiter say? Good luck!

The Expert answers:

No way to answer all that at once. There are too many unproven facts. The pristine bullet was found on the stretcher at the hospital, thus no proof of what, if any, wound it caused. (The Warren report)

As for what was recovered, another good question is where is the brain that was removed at the autopsy? That is a conspiracy lovers dream. Almost as subjective as who hired Oswald. The US troops in Korea noticed a massive build up of enemy troops nearly twelve hours before the shooting. Very bad timing or did they know something?

I better stop, I am asking more than answering. Good luck

The Expert answers:

After death, we get recycled. Matter can neither be created, or destroyed. Based on that fact, we know that all of the little atoms that make up our bodies will simply change form, and remain a part of the whole.

Quantum physics is just now revealing that we are not as separate from one another, or the natural world, as we’ve always thought. We are quite literally a part of a huge, cosmic fabric. The more you imagine the quantum field, the more similar to our own brains it appears to be. It resembles what we call “mind”, and when put in that context, everything in the world, including us, resemble thoughts. The All is timeless and eternal, and we are a part of that. I for one, am comfortable with the idea that the quantum field itself is God, and it is inside this supreme intelligence’s mind that we exist.

Does our consciousness go on? I can’t imagine how it can’t, knowing what we know about the quantum world. I’ll try to explain.

Picture something that happened when you were four. Now picture something that happened when you were 10, and so on. Those thoughts and images are not restrained by time, and can be retrieved at will. Time ceases to exist. Now imagine the supreme mind, doing the same thing. When looking at the world on a quantum level, we appear to be more like vapor than something solid, much like our own thoughts seem to us. We are the thoughts of that supreme mind, and our perceived death cannot end God’s memory of us. We continue to exist.

While I can acknowledge God, I do not accept religion or dogma. To think that such a magnificent being would intentionally create a place of eternal torture is crazy, in my book. It simply makes no sense, as God would indeed have to share in the torture, simply by being aware of it, thus also being tortured. Hell would be counter intuitive to God. Since all of the evidence points to God doing everything possible to improve us, (through evolution. All evolutionary changes have been to our benefit, not our detriment) a desire to then harm us, doesn’t fit what we have witnessed. By harming us, God is also hurt, since God is the All.

Being released from my religious background and deeply embedded fear of hell, was the most liberating thing imaginable. The whole concept of hell was invented by humans to control humans, via the free will God has given us. But when examined closely, the whole hell idea goes out the window.

I

The Expert answers:

Energy/fuel conservation: The main thing I do to be green is I got a new job that I can use mass transit to get to (instead of driving my car.) Now I barely ever drive a car, and I feel good about that. I also don’t buy gas from ExxonMobil, since they pay scientists to claim global warming is not real or is not caused by humans and their use of fossil fuels. The last thing I need to do is give my money to a company who’s actively trying to confuse the public about the state of our fragile environment.

Water/energy conservation: I use CFLs, and turn off and unplug anything that’s not in use in my home. For most hours of the day, the only thing that has power running to it in my home is the refrigerator. I turn off the water in my shower when I’m lathering up or shaving. At least 50% of my meals are vegetarian. Eating vegetarian is good because it takes thousands of gallons of water to raise just one pound of beef. In fact, eating veggie meals makes turning off the water in the shower look like just a drop in the bucket, comparatively speaking. I live in a building/area with many people. Living in a densely-populated area helps conserve resources.

Using green energy: Both my home and my work are run off of 100% green energy–mostly wind, but my work also has some solar panels on the roof. I work in a metropolitan city.

Recycling: I recycle everything I can and offered to help my building’s management company improve and spread the word about its recycling program. I also posted a recycling guide in our recycling room for other people to refer to (to make sure they are following our county’s guidelines.)

Putting my money where my mouth is: I choose to buy earth-friendly products even though it costs me a little bit more i.e. Organic foods, Seventh Generation dishwasher soap, laundry detergent, and toilet paper. The greater the demand for enviro-friendly products now, the cheaper they will be for all of us in the long run. (I especially do not buy Kimberly-Clark products i.e. Kleenex because their products do not have recycled content.) I also donate to Greenpeace, and they in turn fight to save the environment. I buy some green clothing from Greenloop.com when I can afford it (organic clothing is still very pricey–but I found some excellent Certified Jeans on the site and l looove them.)

Encouraging others: I spend a large part of my time trying to convince others to do their part to save the environment. Hanging out on Yahoo! Answers is part of it. I also blog about the environment.

Last but not least, I love my green life!

The Expert answers:

Pluto Rat I would have to agree LMFAO!!!! Gerogia Bush mitt romney both have no common sense when it comes to the economy.Ugh typical republicans.Anyway I think it would be smarter to issue an all new currency so that the regular U.S. Dollar would be replaced and then I think that we should pay all our debts with this new currency and I think after that we should make strict importing laws against china and instead of importing everything we could move the jobs and factories back to America to keep the money flowing and to prevent us from being put into debt again.I think that the new currency could be rationed out to banks where citizens that open bank account could “deposit” there old money and withdraw the new money.The old money would then be recycled and reused to create paper materials.The upsides of starting over with an all new currency would be that 1.we would no longer be in debt 2.we could control the inflation and keep it from going up a.k.a. Taxes go down because we have a new currency and and it’s not inflated and we aren’t in debt and we have a set amount printed so no fluctuating prices. Imagine paying like $1 for a gallon of milk or a a new car for like $6,000. 3.Bringing jobs and factories and jobs back to America means less importing and more employment opportunities meaning less poverty and crimes.More factory jobs in inner cities so people wouldnt be so tempted to steal or rob. There is lots of upsides to this but it would not work unless the government itself changed.We like to think that “we the people” is actually how it is.But in fact it is not.I think we should get rid of the central federal government and instead go by states.States importing from other states boosting the economy.States deciding if they will allow people without legal immigration papers into the state.States deciding drug laws regarding marijuana for medical or recreational use.State laws regarding taxation.State laws regarding all laws.That way if someone doesn’t like the laws or if someone would like different opportunities or if someone doesn’t like the way their personal state oporates they can simply moves states while still being able to easily find job opportunities and still be able to depend on a stable economy.For example hypothetically if someone living in Florida has lots of job opportunities dealing with tropical agriculture or biology but they were homosexual and enjoy smoking marijuana as a medicine or to relieve stress and don’t like synthesized chemicals or alcohol.So they decide to move to California where they would still have opportunities to pursue a career in marine biology or tropical agriculture while being able to have the freedom to choose what they would or would not like to put into their own bodies and to have the freedom to choose what they want to do as long as it’s not harming others.A new economy,the end of the federal government,and the creation of individual state laws would be the key to the perfect utopian society!

The Expert answers:

Go for a drive recycle them at Michigan. There is not that much money in recycling cans do not expect to become rich doing it.
But Recycling a single aluminium drinks can conserves enough energy to run an average television for three hours.
If we were to recycle each of the 2 billion drinks cans used in the AUS every year, we would conserve enough energy for every single household in the AUS to watch over 2 and a half hours of TV per evening – that’s over 800 episodes per year!
Recycling would also remove 5 billion tins and 1.4 billion drinks cans from our landfill sites every year

The Expert answers:

Sure you can recycle the cans

but the Michigan ten cent deposit
makes them worth more than the aluminum scrap price

The Expert answers:

I recycle everything that I can. I live in Northern Michigan and we don’t have recyclers for higher number plastics or colored glass. I save chemicals, prescriptions, poisons, batteries etc for our household hazardous waste day. I recycle all paper and cardboard, cans, 1 & 2 plastics and clear glass. My vegetable waste and yard waste are composted.

The Expert answers:

You can recycle soda cans for cash. Price is down, but something is better than nothing. We live in a rural area and a semi comes every, I believe it’s Thursday, where people bring all soda cans for recycling for cash. However, this is only in the summer. Husband saves all soda cans until spring when the program begins again. He stores them in plastic bags in one of the trailers we have. Grand kids bank accounts keep going up even if it’s a little at a time. It all adds up. Some states will give you, I believe 5 cents per plastic soda bottles at the store you bought them from. I know Michigan does this. Don’t know what other states do this. It’s easy enough to find out were you can take soda cans and aluminum for recycling. Check the bottom of plastic drink bottles. It should tell you what states give you money for them. Money is money no matter how little. All adds up in the end.

I can’t for the life of me understand why people have to litter the sides of high ways with there drink bottles and/or soda cans when they can make a little money on them. Guess it’s called not thinking or caring or being just plain stupid. We are for ever finding trash bags thrown on the side of the back roads where we live. There just to cheap to take there garbage to the dump or pay to have it picked from there homes. They spend the money to pay for the soda a beer they drink, but are to cheap to pay for trash pick up. By the way beer cans go right along with soda cans for recycling.

The Expert answers:

HI is Hawaii and you can recycle the can for 5 cents there
same with ME =5 cents

But in MI, michigan you can get 10 cents per can

The Expert answers:

To encourage recycling and reduce litter. And yes it works. In fact Michigan is looking into expanding the program to include the bottles and cans currently not covered by the bottle deposit laws, like water bottles and juice cans/bottles.

The Expert answers:

You mention Barbie. If it’s a usable toy why not donate it to a charity? Got other plastics that are still useful but that you don’t need like storage bins; hard plastic, camping plates; Christmas tree; etc.? Check out Freecycle.org. At their site you’ll find a link to a Yahoo Group in your area where people post and request stuff they’d like for free. You’d be surprised at what’s trash to you is needed by others.

Once you’ve gotten rid of everything that route you can go to one of these sites to get rid of the rest: http://www.wm.com/SeachZipResults.asp?actionType=

Or look in your phone book for a responsible trash hauler who’ll pick up the stuff (for a fee) and haul it off for you.

The Expert answers:

Toronto is recycling their trash into Michigan, 400 trucks a day, thanks, you can have this Governor back also.

The Expert answers:

South Africa??? Michigan is the only state I know of with a 10c deposit on cans. ME has a 15c deposit on beverage containers with a higher percentage of alcohol than beer. I counted over 200 aluminum cans in a one mile stretch of road in WA once. When aluminum was up to 65c/lb. Many places were cleaned up, but now with it back to 20c/lb. They are piling up again.

The Expert answers:

We generate less than one 30 l trash bag a week of garbage. We compost our kitchen waste, recycle plastic, glass, paper, cardboard, and most metal. We burn wood to heat our home, so any trees or trimmings get burned. We also have a vege garden, and grow our own beef and lamb. I got rid of the chickens after many years of keeping them as it wasn’t cost-effective to have them here in NZ with the price of feed so high; even with feeding them kitchen waste I can buy free range eggs for just a bit more than I was spending.
It doesn’t take that much effort to do the recycling thing…it just gets to be a habit, like anything else.

The Expert answers:

Well you might think this is crazy but I remember in second grade making a wreath out of a wire hanger and garbage bags. Sounds awful but it actually looked really good! Just cut up some of the green lawn and leaf bags into strips about 1 inch wide by 5 inches long. Shape your hanger into a circle. Start tying the strips of garbage bags on. Just one knot in the center of each strip. Every time you tie 10 strips or so, push them together as tight as you can, you need the strips to be jam packed together to get a nice full-looking wreath. It will take a while but you can do it watching TV, and it’s a great thing for kids or others to help with. Here is a link with more instructions and pictures:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4600040_wreath-trash-bags-hanger.html

I’m also a huge fan of string of popcorn and cranberry. Just get a needle and some thread. Pop some popcorn and buy some whole cranberries. Thread the needle and use it to “sew” the cranberries and popcorn onto the thread. You can use all cranberries if you think the popcorn is too messy.

Try checking out http://www.marthastewart.com/ as well.

Good luck and merry christmas!

The Expert answers:

I recycle a lot of things: plastic bottles, dry paper, cartons, tin cans, and stuff go to the junk shop (they buy it cheap but it’s worth getting rid of all unneeded stuff at home); i give away used CLEAN plastic sando bags to the wet market, i wash those that are soiled and use it as garbage bag.

I manually shred foil packs (the ones they use in chips and curls) during my free time and while watching tv and use it to make throw pillows. They’re not as soft as cotton filled ones, but they are as cuddly.

In the office, i sort paper whether it has print on both sides or not. Those who have one side blank are used for forms that are used inside the office (like visitor passes and trasfer forms) while those with both sides printed are shredded and sold to the junk shop.

I use waste water from doing the laundry to water plants and flush the toilet. The soapy water is used to clean up the bathroom tiles, and the water from rinsing is used to rinse the cleaned tiles.

My mom conducts recycling seminars in our province, and you bet she does the seminar at home before anywhere else 🙂

The Expert answers:

It depends on the council and area – different councils use different colour bags, and some don’t use any other than black (recycling goes in boxes instead)

The Expert answers:

Its back and forth. Lets face it, recycling is a rip off to the consumer. Some recycle centers don’t actually have separate dumping area’s, so the separating you do for the bins is sometimes in some area’s a waste of time.

Secondly, Since I live in California, I notice that I pay for that 5 cent deposit fee when I buy my groceries, then the city comes along and expects separation of garbage and to take my recycleables away for free ? Even with todays electronics you are forced to pay for a ‘recycling free’ or ‘disposal fee’. So your basically paying it forward when you buy the item. Absolutely NO incentive to be part of a city recycling program…………….other than to make yourself feel good for pitching in and being responsible.
Meanwhile, the bums that come sniffing around your trash cans on trash day are getting the largest benefit as they cash your cans that you paid for and cheat the city out of thier free money.

The Expert answers:

Not sure what you use for garbage bags. You could check at you local pet store soon i am sure they wll have something. I use bags in the cat box from the pet store so the litter box does not get nasty be i do not put it in the recycle bin. I do not know if they are recyclable just check at the petstore.

The Expert answers:

When shopping it sounds like you already know about reusables, but if you are serious about total elimination then for trash bags you need to switch to biodegradable bags such as the ones on the site below. Along with this switch the vast reduction of trash from watching what type of packaging the products you are buying have (favoring those with less packaging or recyclable packing) combined with recycling and composting (whether traditional or vermicomposting) should have your need for even the biodegradable bags to a minimum

The Expert answers:

Today, recycling, maintaining our sustainability and taking care of our environment is a big thing. While the best method is to reuse our wastes, this often cannot be done. Therefore, the only way to go seems to be to recycle, to use the same materials to make that same product again and again. While this seems to be a great idea, it is not always the case.

I usually carry a water bottle in my bag. I drink bottled water not because I believe it is safer or cleaner than tap water; but rather merely out of convenience. It allows me to have quick access to water when I’m not near a bubbler or a fast-food restaurant. I also refill my water bottle whenever possible. This is reusing waste products, and therefore the best way to sustain our environment. However, water bottles break. When it is broken, I throw it in the rubbish bins provided, NOT the recycling bin. Why?

I think that recycling is somewhat a pointless exercise. It is not totally useless though. I recycle aluminium cans and such. The reason why I recycle aluminium cans and not plastics bottles will be discussed later.

In the New York Times, John Tierney wrote an article called “Recycling is Garbage”. In that article, he declared that “Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America: a waste of time and money, a waste of human and natural resources”. In the article, he points out many things. For instance, packaging saves resources, reducing food spoilage. Fast-food meals generate less trash per person than home-cooked meals. Also, the cheapest way to dispose of garbage is in a landfill.

Recycling, however, costs a lot of money. The time, effort and money spent on picking materials and sorting them out costs more than it would cost to dump it in landfill. Then it would have to be re-processed. Tierney figures that the value of the labour of recycling to be literally hundreds of dollars per ton more.

People might say that landfills are taking too much space. However, it is a common myth. A. Clark Wiseman of Spokane’s Gonzaga University figures that, at the current rate, Americans could put all of the trash generated over the next 1,000 years into a landfill 91 m high and 56 km square or dig a similar-size hole and plant grass on top after it was filled. America has an area of 9,631,418 square km. I doubt they will have trouble finding an area to dump their rubbish. Some people might be worried that this landfill is hazardous and potentially lethal to the environment. An easy solution to this is to shoot off the rubbish into space. All we need to do is provide that much space for rubbish and shoot it off to space once every a thousand years.

People also say that we are going to run out of resources in the near future, they are wrong. Resources on earth are not scarce at all. WorldWatch, a group which has constantly predicted the near future when humans will run out of resources, now acknowledges: “The question of scarcity may never been the most important one”.

People think that recycling paper saves trees. This is wrong. Paper is made from trees which are specifically grown to be chopped down to be turned into paper. It has the same concept as a chicken farm. Australians eat 1 billion chickens every year. And yet, chicken is not an endangered species. This is because we farm chicken. If we are to hunt chickens from the woods and still eat the same amount of chicken, chicken will be extinct in a matter of hours. The same goes for trees. We ‘farm’ trees the same way we farm chickens. Recycling paper doesn’t save trees. As a matter of fact, recycling paper does more harm to the environment than to just make paper freshly from trees. The process of transporting used paper, sorting different types of paper and many other processes involved in recycling paper produces a lot more pollution than just chopping down trees and turning them into paper. The only real way to reduce paper consumption is to read the content of the paper over and over again. A fully-grown oak tree soaks in about 380 L of water a day. That is a lot of water. However, this oak tree does not only consume water, it also eats greenhouse gases and helps purify the air. On the contrary, if everybody stops using paper all of a sudden, we will eventually destroy those trees and use the area for something else. So in fact, throwing away paper saves trees. More paper demand means more trees will be planted and therefore cleaner air.

The Expert answers:

It depends on if there is a facility in your vicinity that can process that kind of plastic wrap. I live in a pretty “green” area, and I’ve never heard of soft or cellophane type plastic being recycled, except for grocery store bags–and I’m not sure that actually happens considering how many end up in the ocean.
Look up your local waste management/recycling service provider online and see if they say that they accept anything besides shampoo bottles and milk jugs.