Your Questions About Recycling
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Filed under Recycling Q & A
Paul asks…
How to separate different compounds?
I just have a question if anybody could figure out for me that would be great! It’s a project for school, I’ve got it about halfway done, but I need some others help for the rest, so here it is!
There is a dump truck full of recycled materials that must be separated. Unfortunatley, the job has been made more difficult by the fact that someone has ground down all of the materials to a fine powder, making it impossible to seperate by hand. Fortunatley, it is known what materials were in the truck:
Aluminum soda cans, Density: 2.7 g/cm^3
Steel Cans, Density: 5.7 g/cm^3
Milk Jugs, Density: 0.95 g/cm^3
Soda Bottles, Density: 1.4 g/cm^3
In the factory, which is where you’ll sepearate the meterials, you have these materials at your disposal:
1. A long conveyor belt
2. A large tank that can be filled with water
3. Another large tank ladeled “Concentrated sugar water, density = 1.5 g/cm^3”
4. Several powerful magnets hanging above the conveyor belt.
5. Several nets for skimming the tanks and scooping materials from the bottom.
_____
How can I sepearte the above compounds only using them 5 equiptment. You can use one more than once, so for example, conveyor belt, water, then conveyor belt agian.
To get the Aluminum and steel sepearted I thought of using the magents to sepearte the metals from non-metals. Then dump the Milk Jugs and Soda Bottles in the tank of water, because water has a density of 1, so the milk jugs will float, so then you can separate that.
Any other ideas would be great, thank you!!
The Expert answers:
First put them in the water, this gets all the milk jugs out
Then Used the sugar water you can get all the soda bottle out.
USE the conveyor belt and manets this should get all the steel cans out
then the al cans would be left on the belt
John asks…
Am I being ripped off here ????
My council does not collect plastic or cardboard in the recycling. Instead we are told we have to take it to the local recycling centre (NOTE – we are not getting any reduction in our council tax for the fact we are having to do this ourselves.)
I then jump in my car and go to the recycle centre (NOTE – this is an EXTRA car trip that I would not have normally made AND I am of course am having to pay for the petrol)
I then drop these items off at the recycle centre and go home (Note – they then take the plastic / card to a depot, where it is my understanding that THEY get money for every ton they bring – they do not of course pay anything back to me)
So, am I being totally ripped off here ? Why am I having to do the job of others and paying for the privilage ?
I can & do put it in the bin for normal collection BUT with two weekly collections the bin fills up really fast and they only take what’s in the bin.
I did e-mail the council about this but – no response. As for ‘get a group together & complain’ well people have (I understand) but they do not do anything about it – apart from saying ‘Well the pick ups are going well – people do use the recycle centre which is also proof its working !!!!’
The Expert answers:
The money they get for the plastic and cardboard isn’t much at all. If it were £10 per tonne, and you contributed 2 kg, that’d be 2p you’ve contributed. A tonne of plastic bottles is one helluva lot of bottles.
Do it for the sake of the planet, not your wallet.
Better still, petition the council into starting a recycling collection service.
Donna asks…
can someone help me with my chemistry homework?
ok look, ill admit it, im not good in science and i really need help. i need to frigure out this problem, can you all help? ok so here it is
An offical from the city of westminster, mr.smith tells you that they hve a dump truck full of recycled materials that must be seperated, and htye will pay you $5,000 if you can do it. unforunately the job is made more difficult by the fact that someone has ground all the material into fine powder, making it impossible to seperate them by hand. fortunately mr.smith knows what the materials in the truck are, as well as thier densities
Material Density (g/cm^3)
aluminum soda cans 2.7
steel cans 5.7
milk jugs 0.95
soda bottles 1.4
in your factory you have the following materials at your disposal:
-a long conveyor belt
-a large tank that can be filled with water (1g/ml)
-another large tank labeled “concentrated sugar water, density=1.5g/cm^3”
-several powerful magnets hanging above the conveyor belt
-several nets for skimming the tanks and scooping material from the bottom
Find a way to separate the four recycled materials. you may need to do this in several steps
please help me, i don’t even know where to start, let alone figure out several steps. my parents couldn’t help me and now you all are my last resort, please help.
The Expert answers:
First, put the powder in the water tank. The water will let the milk jugs float to the top. Skim this off. Next, put the powder in the sugar tank to allow the soda bottles to float to the top. Now all you have to do is use the large magnets to bring the steel out of the powder leaving the aluminum remaining.
Carol asks…
will i get rehired or even paid?
I got hired at a rubber recycling plant today, i’m to start Nov 17/08. My concern is after I was offered the job I am now told I will be starting training but expect to be laid off after two weeks. The company told me I will be working until December, then off for up to a whole month!. I was told to budget well and if I have a p/t job or anything to hold onto it. They also said they will rehire us for Jan/09. I’m just nervous about this, because I really need a job my money is running out. Whats also strange is upon hire they did not even ask for my SIN card or info. They did give me an employment offer in writing though, but I am to sign it and return it if i accept the position. I just walked out after he congratulated me and handed me the letter of offer of employment, he did not ask me to sign it there and give it to him. And since they did not take my sin?. I am starting Nov/17/08 night shift, is it best to phone during the day before i start to mention the fact that they dont even have my SIN card or any info?, and the letter signed and returned. They just said I have the job and that’s it. I also worry because they hired at least 8 of us and the company seemed to have hardly any employees i noticed. Also I noticed online some pictures of the company i am going to work for that were taken Nov 2nd, the place was abandoned. Is it possible this company is not doing well and they just fired and now hired us and will lay uf off and either not rehire us or even worse not pay us after they use us for two weeks then let us go till jan/09. I asked if it was gauranteed that i will be rehired for Jan/09, the boss said yes, as long as I work out of course. Is it worth risking taking this job?, please help. I only have enough cash for Dec rent and a little left over. Is it best maybe to work temp agencies instead of accept this job offer?, it makes me nervous because how do i know they will rehire me, also they didnt take my sin card or info. This company is very big though. But if it is closing down they can just use us and not pay or rehire, correct?.
I have talked to many people who think the company is in the process of closing. they legally do not have to pay us if they go bankrupt. they have already hired me there is no possibility of filling out more paper work before i start my shift on nights, they havent even taken any sin card info etc. the company changed there name recently as well. they are recruiting many people only to hire and say in 2 weeks we will lay you off then rehire. but they dont even have our sin card etc how do they know we are even legally able to work in canada. the company was empty not alot of workers, also they were abandoned and not in operation on nov 2/08. i think they probably laid off many workers and they hired us at lower wages to finish off the remaining two weeks of work they have left. then they dont have to pay us, they dont even have our banking info or sin card info as they claimed they were going to process when they hired us, they didn’t. i feel i will be paid at the end
i feel i wont be paid at the end is what i meant. they are just probably using us. 30% of the rubber is from the automotive industry and they are also not doing well. they also claimed they did almost close recently but they found a buyer. the fact that they didnt care to take any oid or info just a resume, and not have us sign and return the employment offer letter is sketchy to me. the company looks like it will close also. and i dont believe the risk is worth it to not get paid or possibly not get hired. the place is also a bad work environment and with health hazards. i worry with the economy this company is going down and just using us to finish helping them close. when i start on a weekday i wont get to fill any paper work on my night shift. i will just have to start work. i will not work if they dont have my sin card or my banking info, etc. this is not proper. its before xmas i don’t have alot of money, only decembers rent and a couple hundred!. I might consider temp agencies.
The Expert answers:
If you need the money tell your employer to pay you on a daily basis. I mean after work get the pay / money. If they don’t want just leave it and find another job or you can ask a legal advice from the ministry of labour to know whether the company is registered.
Betty asks…
Science homework help…?
Ok here’s what it says:
An official from the city of Westminster, Mr. smith, tells you that they ahve a dump truck full of recycled materials that must be separated, and they will pay you $5,000 if you can do it. Unfortunately, the job is made more difficult by the fact that someone has ground all of the materials into a fine powder, making it impossible to separate by hand.
The items you have are:
*A long conveyor belt
*a large tank that can be filled with water
*Another large tank labeled “concentrated sugar water, density = 1.5g/cm3”
*Several powerful magnets hanging above the conveyer belt
*several nets for skimming the tanks and scooping material form the bottoms.
So i kinda have an idea on how to do it, but i could use some more ideas on how you would do this. I’m sopose to writer a letter, but well i’ll do that so you guys wont have to. I just need some ideas pretty much and i’m done.
The first best answer gets 10 pts.
Also the recyclables are:
Aluminum soda cans, 2.7 density
steel cans, 5.7 density
milk jugs, 0.95 density
Soda bottles, 1.4 density
The Expert answers:
So the obvious but :-
a) do the magnetic separation whilst everything is dry. The magnets can be used over the conveyor or at the end as the material is falling.
B) use the plane water before the sugar water rather than the sugar first so you don’t contaminate the plane water (the scooped material from the plane water tank goes into the sugar water tank).
Draw a diagram to accompany letter showing the process in a flow chart form, teachers love it! The flow chart should show what material you should get out at each step ie steel cans with magnets, milk jugs as float on plane water, soda water as float on sugar water and aluminium as sink in sugar water.
Cheers
George asks…
i need help?
suppose that u r the new owner of the Owl Recyling Factory and you are looking for Business.
An Offical from the city of Westminster,Mr.S, tells you that the have a dump truck full of recycled materials that must be seperated and they will pay you $5000 if you can do it. Un fortunately, the job is made more difficult by the fact that someone has ground all the materials into a fine powder making is impossible to seperate by hand.
Fortunatley Mrs. S knows the materials in truck and their densities
Marerials – Density (g/cm^3)
Aluminum soda cans- 2.7
Stell cans – 5.7
milk jugs – .95
soda bottles- 1.4
in ur factory u have :
-a long conveyor belt
-a large truck filled with water
-a truck labeled “concentrated sugar water density- 1.5 g/cm^3”
-several power magnets hanging above the conveyor belt
-several nets for skimming the tanks and scooping material from the bottoms
The Expert answers:
I would run this powdered mess down the conveyor belt with the magnets over head. This will separate out the steel cans leaving the aluminun cans, soda bottles and milk jugs on the conveyor.
I would then have the conveyor dump all of this into the sugar water. The aluminum cans would sink and the milk jugs and soda bottles would float.
I would next skim off the floating milk jugs and soda bottles and place them in the truck full of water. The soda bottles would sink because their density is greater than the density of water (density water =1.0 grams/cm^3) the milk jugs would floa and i would skim them off with a net.
Chris asks…
lazy co worker, should i worry he overheard me complaining?
i work @ starbucks, different shifts. i closed today. the job of the afternoon precloser is to sweep/mop/sanitze and date everything…or basically, prepare for close. This semi new person preclosed today, and yet once again, didnt do half of anything it seemed. I would understand if he were brand new, or if he was very busy, or if this was a first. but this is the way it always is. He didnt mop or sweep..nothing had dates, stuff was totally out. and dirty.
And the great part about it is…when i get there and i start 2 clean up so i dont have 2 do everything right before close, he goes out and talks with his girlfriends in the lobby. i’m mad cuz when i preclose i mop, sweep, sometimes more than once, date sanitize everything 2 help the closer because they already got a lot of stuf to do.
i hope he dint hear me…but i was complaining to the supervisor while he was talking in the lobby. i dont wana hurt his feelings but this is not the first time and i feel its unfair that he gets great hours and does a half a*s*s job, and also whenever he works i still must guide him through every drink he makes (hes worked here over a month and doesnt know how to make a lotta stuff)…so why does he get so many hours..? I just dont understand this. he got 30 hours last week, thats more than most supervisors get. come on! he doesnt even know how to make most the drinks!
also he was filling up some of the lobby milk pitchers and kept throwing the empty milk cartons in the trash, so i nicely said, just throw them in the recycling can (not only good for the environment, but i dont want to have to take out the regular trash again because its full of cartons). i dont know if he heard me, but one minute later he literally threw another milk carton into the regular trash, when the recycling is within equal distance. huh? ignorant.
again i hope he didnt hear me. i dont want any issues at work, i usually dont talk bad about people. but would you feel that this is a bit unjust..? what should i do if he did in fact hear me complaining, and problems arise from that?
The Expert answers:
While I can understand you don’t want issues at work, he doesn’t care about what he’s putting you through with the extra work that you have to do when he won’t do his part. You need to complain, and your supervisor needs to have a talk with him. So what he heard you! He knows he’s doing wrong but just doesn’t care. As long as you keep quiet, he’s going to keep walking all over you. Next time you complain, make sure he can hear you.
Laura asks…
do u feel like you have 2 work double for a lazy co worker. and yet they often get better hours?
i work @ starbucks, different shifts. i closed today. the job of the afternoon precloser is to sweep/mop/sanitze and date everything…or basically, prepare for close. This semi new person preclosed today, and yet once again, didnt do half of anything it seemed. I would understand if he were brand new, or if he was very busy, or if this was a first. but this is the way it always is. He didnt mop or sweep..nothing had dates, stuff was totally out. and dirty. but when i come in, he gves a lazy hand gesture and tells me “yeah i did everything except the blenders”.. uhm does he know hes supposed to mop the floors?
And the great part about it is…when i get there and i start 2 clean up so i dont have 2 do everything right before close, he goes out and talks with his girlfriends in the lobby. i’m mad cuz when i preclose i mop, sweep, sometimes more than once, date sanitize everything 2 help the closer because they already got a lot of stuf to do.
i hope he dint hear me…but i was complaining to the supervisor while he was talking in the lobby. i dont wana hurt his feelings but this is not the first time and i feel its unfair that he gets great hours and does a half a*s*s job, and also whenever he works i still must guide him through every drink he makes (hes worked here over a month and doesnt know how to make a lotta stuff)…so why does he get so many hours..? I just dont understand this. he got 30 hours last week, thats more than most supervisors get. come on! he doesnt even know how to make most the drinks!
also he was filling up some of the lobby milk pitchers and kept throwing the empty milk cartons in the trash, so i nicely said, just throw them in the recycling can (not only good for the environment, but i dont want to have to take out the regular trash again because its full of cartons). i dont know if he heard me, but one minute later he literally threw another milk carton into the regular trash, when the recycling is within equal distance. huh? ignorant.
again i hope he didnt hear me. i dont want any issues at work, i usually dont talk bad about people. but would you feel that this is a bit unjust..? what should i do if he did in fact hear me complaining, and problems arise from that?
The Expert answers:
Good for you for speaking up about this clown to your supervisor! And if he heard you, so what? It sounds like he doesn’t take this job seriously enough to care. Yes it is unjust that you have to do so much more work because he just doesn’t give a damn. It’s difficult to say what you should do if problems arise because, so far, nothings happened. When you start having problems tell us about it.
Sharon asks…
how to trust in harold camping and scientology after it let me down?
yes i was at work and fell off a moving car, not my falt, rolled off a moving ford toros while it were doing 50mph down a bumpy dirt road and i had to clamb out the sunroof unto the back bumper to try to tighten some bolts on the muffler to keep it from rattlin like a snake in a clothes hamper, hit a log and fell off onto my head. my wifes boyfriends scientology church and now they need a lot of money, i dont got a lot and only got a little left over from a lawsuit i had from gettin a bad injury at the hospital cause they thought i was an animal and tried to spay me. I AM TORN BETEWEEN HAROLDS CAMPINGS AND BUYING RICERONI AND PORNO i dont have the funds for booth, hopefully my brian leak will heal on its own accord i have been pooring honey into my head like a faucet.
i also joined my wifes boyfriends scientology church and they need a lot of cash A LOT
there has been a bad flow of egg yolk coming out of my head and leaking across my facial and it is seriously hampering my chances at getting a new job, its a brain leak. unfortunately. the egg yolk is also pooling up around the house and making a bad smell for me. i no longre have a health insurance because i was fired for this wreck and all, boss said it was because i was a bad employee and showed up drunked on nyquil and listerine all day everyday, but i know for a fact that BUCKET HEAD BADGER BABY only fired me cause I WRECKED THE FACKIN FORD TOROS! he is a liar and a jewish man.
anyways i am no longer workign at jiffy loob, and i was thrown out of my job and even tho i have a brain leak he is leaving me on the streets, my wife is also sleeping with a scientologost and the two of them are in my bed while i have been emancipated into the fackin garage onto a dog bed. dont even got tv out here, dont got juge judy and dont got a tolot for the doodoo batter only gots a jar to peepee into. dont even got maury only i do have the internet for the pornos.
anyways i have been puttin honey onto my brain leak all day to fight the infections and demons, out here the shadows are lengthening and i am getting frightened at night, i see the ghosts around me and i am willing to fight my neybor, he has already challenged me AND I DID NOT BACK DOWN AND I WAS DRUNNK ON FACKIN NYQUIL AND TEQUILA AND I THREW HIM INTO A FIREPLACE AND TRIED TTO LITE IT UP ON THAT MATHERFACKER, KICKED HIM SO HARD HE HAS TO WAER A NECK BRACE AND I DID IT BECAUSE HE IS A MATHERFACKER AND A LIAR AND HE CALLED THE POLICE ON ME FOR LEAVIN NYQUIL BOTTALS ALL OVER HIS YARD, I CALLED THE POLICE ON HIM FOR KILLIN HIS DELF AND THREW HIM HEAD FIRST into his swimmin pool, obama is not givin me a job and i already sent numerous emails to harold camping, kanye, and obama to tell them my plight, no response, notuin in the box except notices from the library tellin me they are going to kill me for not returning a movie called dances with wolves and also a tigger movie, never watched them cause i accidentaly sent them in the recycling,
anyways i ranup into my neybors house wile he were eating wwith his family and grabbed him by the head and drugged him out onto his porch and rolled that DUCK HEAD down his staircase like a bowlin ball, and why did i do this? he called the police on me for fighting my wifes boyfriend with a knife in the front yard and drawing blood because he had pepperspray and i was using my neybors trashcan as a shield and jabbin at his belly with my knife as i got sprayred in the face until i was pukin and he stuck me with a blade.
also got called by the police because i fought my dog in the front yard, dont get up in arms over it tho animal cops already came and filmed it and beat me up and filmed that and then gave me 500 bucks to sign a waiver to be on animal coips
anyways my naeyber is a baby, harold camping already tooke 50,000 from me, all my saving, and now he weants more, i dont know how to accomidate everyone, i am sick of being the good guy, the scape goat, and a drunk.
only answer if you have been in this exact situatuiion
The Expert answers:
LOL. Thanks for the amusing story!
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