Your Questions About Recycling

The Expert answers:

Hi

The best advice (I am a New Zealander by birth) is visit the country first for at least 3 – 6 months and explore it first to see if you really like it or not. What you see from afar is not often the same when viewed or experienced for real.

Yes we are a green country in terms of flora and flauna. Yes it does look under-populated, with wide open spaces, beaches, bush, forests and so on. Plenty to explore and do if you an outdoors person by sound of it you are.

Being on holiday is a lot different to having find a job to make a living here and there is a bias in employment because of the economic downturn to employ NZ citizens first. The reality is that there people in this country with professional qualifications and experience employed in jobs that are below their capabilities (i.e. Overseas doctors driving taxis).

I have friends, qualified and experienced who were made redundant and have been searching for the past 12 months applying for jdifferent jobs without much success. Two of them have left for Australia and have managed to secure jobs.

Agencies will deny it but it is true and it is a fact.

Wages and salaries are not high some people work two jobs to make ends meet.

It is a small country with small economic base, if there is a downturn worldwide its effects are felt pretty quickly.

Do not believe all the hype that we are ‘clean and green’ we have our environmental issues as well, yes there are areas of this country that are pristine but you are living in a fool’s paradise to think that we have got it made.

The culture here is more reserved to what you have experienced in the USA, New Zealanders are generally ok, but can be quite reserved and from comments I have heard from others, inward looking and to a degree I agree. I have met a lot of good people and worked with them, but not everyone is extrovert and not everyone is welcoming.

Sure there are plenty of nice people around do not get me wrong but responses will be mixed. But if you come you must come with your eyes wide open and get to know the place before making any final decisions.

You need to check what the employment situation is like here and what jobs you could possibly apply for. Even the most basic of jobs require either experience or some kind of recognised certification or both that is recognised in this country or has an a recognised equivalent

If you do not like sport such as rugby, you are not a true Kiwi (it is what we call ourselves after a flightless, ground dwelling, blind as a bat, native bird – impressive I know) so get to learn about the game if you want to ‘fit in’.

I would not at all be surprised that some of my fellow countrymen will refute what I have written here, but if they wish to see things through rose-tinted glasses that is their business, but what I am trying to advise you here is the reality of living here.

It is nice country to visit, reasonably safe, but you still need to be aware of your personal security.

The main centres such as Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington (North Island) , Christchurch, Dunedin (South Island) are where most jobs are located. Living in Auckland is expensive.

Come by all means, you are welcome, you might be lucky and fit in well, but have alternative plans if things to do not work out here for you.

It is not intended to show my country up in a negative light but given your age you need to be alerted to the realities of living in another place.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Mr Books

The Expert answers:

It certainly sounds like you have been infected with some kind of malware. Unfortunately, if you find one infection, it is highly likely you have another one. A virus, trojan or worm are all different types of infections/malware and there are some great FREE programs that can help you.

First, clean up (delete) your cookies, temp files and temporary internet files. I prefer to use Ccleaner (available at www.filehippo.com) to do this, rather than the built-in DISK CLEANUP, as I feel it does a much more thorough job – for example, it will clean out the index files on your next reboot.

If you want to use Disk Cleanup, you can find it if you:
– Double-Click on My Computer to open it up
– RIGHT-click on your C: drive
– Choose PROPERTIES and then click on the DISK CLEANUP button
– When done, reboot your computer.
Delete these files daily or run Ccleaner every day right before you shut your computer down.

2 – You should also have a good anti-virus program to help protect your computer. AVG FREE is an excellent anti-virus program, which can be downloaded from www.download.com. You might also choose Avast or Avira, both also free programs from www.download.com.

3 -Since NONE of the anti-spyware/anti-adware programs are 100% accurate in finding and removing spyware, you need at least two programs which you will run one after the other, not at the same time.

There are three excellent free ones:
–Spybot, Search and Destroy
–Ad-Aware
–Spyware Blaster
All are available FREE from www.download.com

You will need to download, install, update (and IMMUNIZE in Spybot) and run them, one at a time. Be careful with the NAME of these programs – there are “look-alikes” with very similar names, that are in fact spyware themselves! Reboot after you install each one!

After this current infection is cleared up, be sure to run both of the above programs at least once a week if you are on the internet frequently and/or like to download music or files.

NOTE: Some infections prevent your from downloading the above programs. You may have to use a clean computer to download the programs and copy them to a thumb drive or CD. Then transfer the install files to the infected computer and run.

–Occasionally you will not be able to run these programs without being in SAFE MODE. To get there, reboot your computer and tap the F8 key, repeatedly until a menu comes up. You want to choose SAFE MODE WITH NETWORKING.

4 -You should also have a good firewall to help protect your computer. Zone Alarm makes a totally free version (watch you don’t download the 30-day free trial of the paid version). You can download this from the manufacturer at www.zonelabs.com

The Expert answers:

–You are tired of news on TV that exploit other people’s misfortunes. Tell why it is unethical for journalists to make money on deaths and war. Persuade others to view this issue as you do.
–Take any common fallacy/lie/misconception (such as the common misconception that addiction is something that addicts can control, when in fact, addiction is a disease), and persuade others why it is wrong, supporting your point with facts and data.
–You have your own point of view on marriage and family. Convince your readers why it is correct.
-Persuade others why job satisfaction is more important than what the job pays. Or vice versa.

More persuasive essay topics to choose from:

-Should the driving age be raised to 18?
-Should semi-automatic weapons be banned?
-Should teens who murder be executed?
-Should hunting be outlawed?
-Should recycling be mandatory?
-Should schools require student uniforms?
-Should college athletes be paid?
-Should the death penalty be abolished?
-Should handguns be banned?
-Should assisted suicide be permitted?
-Should legal immigration be stopped?
-Should dying people be kept on life support?
-Should tobacco products be banned?
-Should the logging industry be allowed to harvest public forests?
-Should state lotteries be banned?
-Should alcoholic beverages be banned?
-Should alcoholic beverages be legalized for all ages?
-Should the Internet be censored?
-Should school prayer be allowed?
-Should music lyrics be censored?
-Should extremist groups (i.e. KKK, skinheads)
be banned?
-Should parents of teen vandals be held responsible for their child’s damage?
-Should research on cloning be discontinued?
-Should convicted sex offenders’ names be made public?
-Should affirmative action laws which give special privileges to minorities be eliminated?
-Should a rookie salary cap be enforced in pro sports?
-Should the U.S. Provide foreign aid?
-Should females in the military be excluded from combat and other “hazardous” duties?
-Should high schools be segregated by the sex of the student?
-Should parents of students who are excessively absent from school be prosecuted under the law?
-Should “home schooling” be permitted?
-Should Native Americans be allowed to have gambling casinos on their reservations?
-Should students failing their classes in high school have their driver’s license revoked?
-Should pros be allowed to draft college athletes before they graduate?
-Should wolves be reintroduced to public lands?
-Should free, disposable needles be given to drug addicts?
-Should adopted children be given the choice of contacting their biological parents?
-Should mothers who give their children up for adoption be allowed to keep their identity secret?
-Should welfare be limited by time?
-Should all pregnant women be required to take an AIDS test?
-Should off-shore drilling be banned?
-Should school funding come from local property taxes?
-Should casino gambling be legalized in Ohio?
-Should the U.S. Phase out the Electoral College (regarding presidential elections)?
-Should students be required to pass proficiency tests in order to graduate from high school?
-Should people pulled over fur DUI have their license suspended for life?
-Should pagers and cell phones be allowed in school?
-Should families of victims be allowed to decide the punishment of those who commit crimes?
-Should smoking be allowed in school?

The Expert answers:

Whimsy? “Protecting the environment and finding better ways to blah, blah, blah”, does not create jobs. Recent statistics generated on the early results of Obama’s so called stimulus plan indicate that every green job produced causes 2.2 normal jobs to be lost. How does that equate to job creation?
The fact is that God gave us this earth to live on and cherish. We should be good stewards of the gift we have been given. Recycling and conservation are noble gestures that take little time and go a long way towards preserving this wonderful planet. However, it is precisely Obama’s goal to stifle the growth and access to resources that we need until we can install new forms of energy production. Cap & Trade will put us all on a quota of energy that we can consume. If we use too much, we pay a tax.
We all should have the freedom to make our own decisions as to how to spend our money. With gov taxation, that freedom is denied. We all should also be able to take a few seconds and chunk aluminum cans and newspapers into a recycle bin. Just a little effort goes a long way.

The Expert answers:

What is the solid waste management hierarchy?

Pyramid depicting the solid waste management hierarchy. Source reduction is at the top, followed by Reuse, then Recycling/Composting, then Incineration, then Landfilling.The solid waste management hierarchy (shown in the pyramid below) ranks the most preferable ways to address solid waste. Source reduction or waste prevention, which includes reuse, is the best approach, followed by recycling. Waste that cannot be prevented or recycled can be incinerated or landfilled according to proper regulations.

Why is source reduction at the top of the hierarchy? Because the best approach to managing solid waste is to avoid creating it in the first place. This means reducing the amount of trash you discard and reusing containers and products instead of throwing them away.

Once waste is created, recycling, which includes composting, is one of the most effective methods of reducing the amount of material in the waste stream. If waste cannot be recycled, incineration or sanitary landfilling are the next preferred methods of treatment.

Is recycling worthwhile?

Recycling is one of the best environmental success stories of the late 20th century. Recycling, which includes composting, diverted over 72 million tons of material away from landfills and incinerators in 2003, up from 34 million tons in 1990—doubling in just 10 years. Recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources. As a matter of fact, collecting recyclable materials is just the first step in a series of actions that generate a host of financial, environmental, and societal returns. There are several key benefits to recycling. Recycling:

* Protects and expands U.S. Manufacturing jobs and increases U.S. Competitiveness in the global marketplace.
* Reduces the need for landfilling and incineration.
* Saves energy and prevents pollution caused by the extraction and processing of virgin materials and the manufacture of products using virgin materials.
* Decreases emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change.
* Conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals.
* Helps sustain the environment for future generations.

Click here to learn more about the benefits of recycling.

Recycling not only makes sense from an environmental standpoint, but also makes good financial sense. For example, creating aluminum cans from recycled aluminum is far less energy-intensive, and less costly, than mining the raw materials and manufacturing new cans from scratch.

Because recycling is clearly good for human health, the nation’s economy, and the environment, many people wonder why the federal government does not simply mandate recycling. The primary reason is that recycling is a local issue—the success and viability of recycling depends on a community’s resources and structure. A community must consider the costs of a recycling program, as well as the availability of markets for its recovered materials. In some areas, not enough resources exist to make recycling an economically feasible option. State governments can assess local conditions and set appropriate recycling mandates. For information about recycling in your state, contact your EPA regional office, or your state agency.

What costs my community more—recycling or throwing trash away?

Image of garbage can and recycling bin, with dollar signs floating above themThe answer to this question will vary depending on where you live, and comparing recycling program and waste disposal costs is a complex undertaking. Disposal fees for landfills, waste transfer stations, and incinerators vary across the country, but in many areas, particularly on the heavily populated East Coast, they are significant expenses. Costs and returns for recycling programs also vary greatly, depending on the local resources and demand for the recovered materials.

Recycling does cost money, but so does waste disposal. Communities must pay to collect trash and manage a landfill or incinerator and so also should expect to pay for recycling. Assessing how recycling will impact your community requires a full appraisal of the environmental and economic benefits and costs of recycling, as compared to the one-way consumption of resources from disposing of used products and packaging in landfills and incinerators. Analyzing all of these factors together will help you determine if recycling is more cost effective in your community.

The report, Anti-Recycling Myths: Commentary on Recycling is Garbage Exit EPA, by John F. Ruston and Richard A. Denison, Ph.D. Of the Environmental Defense Fund, provides one point of view on the costs and benefits of recycling and waste disposal.

The Business and the Environment Allied for Recycling (BEAR) is conducting a value chain assessment that analyzes the costs of curbside recycling and bottle bills. The report will be available through BEAR’s Web site Exit EPA.

If there is plenty of landfill space, then why should I recycle?

Recycling offers a host of environmental, economic, and societal benefits (see Question “Is Recycling Worthwhile?”). While landfill space is plentiful on the national level, some areas of the United States, particularly the heavily populated East Coast, have less landfill capacity and higher landfill costs.

Communities can make money and avoid high disposal costs by selling certain recyclable materials. Markets for recovered materials fluctuate, however—as markets do for all commodities—depending on a variety of economic conditions. Find more information on the value of recovered materials Exit EPA.

A report released by the National Recycling Coalition Exit EPA at the end of 2001 offers perhaps the most compelling evidence of how and why recycling makes good economic sense. Simply put, recycling creates jobs and generates valuable revenue for the United States. According to The U.S. Recycling Economic Information Study, more than 56,000 recycling and reuse establishments in the United States employ approximately 1.1 million people, generate an annual payroll of $37 billion, and gross $236 billion in annual revenues. According to the report, the number of workers in the recycling industry is comparable to the automobile and truck manufacturing industry and is significantly larger than mining and waste management and disposal industries. In addition, wages for workers in the recycling industry are notably higher than the national average for all industries, according to the report. For additional information on the economic impact of recycling, visit EPA’s Jobs Through Recycling Web site.

How does recycling save energy?

Harvesting, extracting, and processing the raw materials used to manufacture new products is an energy-intensive activity. Reducing or nearly eliminating the need for these processes, therefore, achieves huge savings in energy. Recycling aluminum cans, for example, saves 95 percent of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from its virgin source, bauxite. The amount of energy saved differs by material, but almost all recycling processes achieve significant energy savings compared to production using virgin materials.

In 2000, recycling resulted in an annual energy savings of at least 660 trillion BTUs, which equals the amount of energy used in 6 million households annually. In 2005, recycling is conservatively projected to save 900 trillion BTUs, equal to the annual energy use of 9 million households.

For more information on recycling and energy reduction, check out the EPA brochure Puzzled About Recycling’s Value? Look Beyond the Bin. (PDF) A white paper on the energy benefits of waste management is available at EPA’s Climate and Waste Web site, under the “Publications and Tools” link.

What effects do waste prevention and recycling have on global warming?

Image of the Earth with its ozone layer and the sun shining down on itEveryone knows that reducing waste is good for the environment because it conserves natural resources. What many people don’t know is that solid waste reduction and recycling also have an impact on global climate change.

The manufacture, distribution, and use of products—as well as management of the resulting waste—all result in greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the upper atmosphere, occur naturally and help create climates that sustain life on our planet. Increased concentrations of these gases can contribute to rising global temperatures, sea level changes, and other climate changes.

Waste prevention and recycling—jointly referred to as waste reduction—help us better manage the solid waste we generate. But reducing waste is a potent strategy for reducing greenhouse gases because it can:

Reduce emissions from energy consumption. Recycling saves energy. Manufacturing goods from recycled materials typically requires less energy than producing goods from virgin materials. When people reuse goods or when products are made with less material, less energy is needed to extract, transport, and process raw materials and to manufacture products. When energy demand decreases, fewer fossil fuels are burned and less carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere.

Reduce emissions from incinerators. Recycling and waste prevention divert materials from incinerators and thus reduce greenhouse gas emissions from waste combustion.

Reduce methane emissions from landfills. Waste prevention and recycling (including composting) divert organic wastes from landfills, reducing the methane that would be released if these materials decomposed in a landfill.

Increase storage of carbon in forests. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in wood in a process called “carbon sequestration.” Waste prevention and recycling paper products allows more trees to remain standing in the forest, where they can continue to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

For more information about the relationship between solid waste and climate change, go to EPA’s Climate Change & Waste page.

How does the U.S. Municipal solid waste generation rate compare with other countries? What about recycling rates?

The United States leads the industrialized world in MSW generation, with each person in the United States currently generating on average 4.5 pounds of waste per day. Canada and the Netherlands come in second and third, with 3.75 and 3 pounds per person per day, respectively. Germany and Sweden generate the least amount of waste per capita for industrialized nations, with just under 2 pounds per person per day. The United States, however, also leads the industrialized world in recycling. The United States recycled 24 percent of its waste in 1995, the most recent year for which comparative international data is available. Switzerland and Japan came in second and third, recycling 23 percent and 20 percent of their discard stream, respectively.

More information on international waste management issues is available through the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Exit EPA, an international organization that helps governments tackle the economic, social, and governance challenges of a globalized economy. The group provides information on environmental performance and outlook issues for countries around the globe, including information on waste minimization, recycling, environmental and economic sustainability, and more.

What materials are most commonly recycled in the United States through collection programs?
Bar chart depicting U.S. Recycling Rates for 2001.

U.S. Recycling rates for commonly recycled consumer goods in 2003 are listed below:

Newspapers: 82.4 percent
Corrugated Cardboard Boxes: 71.3 percent
Steel Cans: 60.0 percent
Yard Trimmings: 56.3 percent
Aluminum Beer and Soft Drink Cans: 43.9 percent
Scrap Tires: 35.6 percent
Magazines: 33.0 percent
Plastic Milk and Water Bottles: 31.9 percent
Plastic Soft Drink Bottles: 25.2 percent
Glass Containers: 22.0 percent

EPA’s annually updated report, Municipal Solid Waste in the US: 2003 Facts and Figures, describes the national MSW stream based on data collected since 1960. The historical perspective provided is useful for establishing trends in the types of MSW generated and the ways in which it is managed.

What product is taking up the most space in US landfills?

The item most frequently encountered in MSW landfills is plain old paper—on average, it accounts for more than 40 percent of a landfill’s contents. This proportion has held steady for decades and in some landfills has actually risen. Newspapers alone can take up as much as 13 percent of the space in US landfills.

Organic materials, including paper, do not easily biodegrade once they are disposed of in a landfill. Paper is many times more resistant to deterioration when compacted in a landfill than when it is in open contact with the atmosphere. Research by William Rathje, who runs the Garbage Project , has shown that, when excavated from a landfill, newspapers from the 1960s can be intact and readable.

What materials are not safe to throw in my trash?

Image of examples of household hazardous waste: Cleaning fluid bottle, panint can, paint brush, and batteriesChances are, there are certain items or products in your house that you should not throw out in the trash. Many common household items, such as paint, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides, contain hazardous components. Leftover portions of these products are called household hazardous waste (HHW). These products, if mishandled, can be dangerous to human health and the environment.

Certain types of HHW can cause physical injury to sanitation workers, contaminate septic tanks or wastewater treatment systems if poured down drains or toilets, and present hazards to children and pets if left around the house. Some communities have special programs that allow residents to dispose of HHW separately. Others allow disposal of properly prepared HHW in trash, particularly those areas that do not yet have special HHW collection programs in place. Call your local Department of Sanitation or Department of Public Works for instructions on proper disposal. Follow their instructions and also read product labels for disposal directions to reduce the risk of products exploding, igniting, leaking, mixing with other chemicals, or posing other hazards on the way to a disposal facility. Even empty containers that used to contain HHW can pose hazards because of the residual chemicals inside.

Find more information on household hazardous waste and its safe disposal.

How do I know what materials are recyclable in my community, and where can I take these materials to be recycled?

Most communities employ recycling coordinators—government officials who have information on local recycling resources—who can answer specific questions about recycling and waste management in your city or town. Look in your phone book under “Recycling Coordinators,” or contact the relevant city or county government office (often called Department of Sanitation or Department of Public Works). Your state Department of Environmental Protection or Department of Natural Resources also may have helpful resources. EPA’s Web site has links to these state offices.

Earth’s 911 Exit EPA is another helpful resource that allows you to type in your ZIP code or find your state on a map to locate recycling centers in your community for all types of recyclables. You also can visit the National Recycling Coalition Exit EPA for a list of state recycling organizations.

Your local recycling program should be able to provide you with a list of materials that can be collected for recycling in your community. Following is a short list of the most common materials that are recycled in many communities:

Paper: Newspaper is almost always recovered in community recycling programs. Some communities also collect white and colored paper (sometimes combined as “mixed paper”) and used cardboard boxes, such as cereal boxes.

Plastics: Not all communities recycle all types of plastic. Investigate your community’s plastic collection through the resources listed above. Most communities recycle plastic items such as detergent bottles, beverage containers (e.g., soda, milk, and juice), and containers for various household products, from shampoo, lotion, and mouthwash containers to plastic peanut butter containers. Also, many grocery stores collect used plastic grocery bags on site for recycling.

Aluminum: Almost all recycling programs include aluminum beverage cans. One of the most highly recycled products, aluminum cans are made into new cans in as little as 90 days after they are collected. Some communities also collect aluminum foil for recycling.

Steel: Many steel products manufactured in the United States contain a high percentage of recycled steel. Some are even made from 100 percent recycled steel. Many communities collect soup cans and other steel food packaging containers, as well as steel aerosol cans, for recycling.

Glass: Glass food containers, such as jars and bottles for pickles, juice, jam, or wine, are usually recyclable in many communities.

Yard Trimmings/Food Scraps: Many communities have regular or seasonal programs in place to collect yard trimmings, such as leaves, branches, and grass clippings, from residents. Other communities encourage residents to practice backyard composting for yard trimmings and food scraps.

What happens to my recyclables after I put them out at the curbside?

Image of chasing arrows indicating the three steps of the recycling process: 1) Collecting and processing materials; 2) Manufacturing new products from recovered materials; and 3) Purchasing products containing recycled-contentAfter you put your recyclables out on the curb, they begin a circular journey during which they are processed and manufactured into new recycled-content products, which are sold in stores to consumers, who can then repeat the process. Below is a brief summary of the three phases of the recycling loop. For a more detailed description, click here.

Step 1. Collection and Processing
After recyclables are collected at the curb or from a drop-off center, haulers take them to a materials recovery facility, where they are sorted and baled.

Step 2. Manufacturing
Once they are cleaned, separated, and baled, recyclables are remanufactured into new products. Many consumer products, such as newspapers, aluminum and steel cans, plastic containers and other plastic products, and glass bottles, are now manufactured with total or partial recycled content.

Step 3. Purchasing Recycled Products
Purchasing recycled products completes the recycling loop. By “buying recycled,” governments, businesses, and individual consumers each play an important role in making the recycling process a success. Click here to learn more about recycling terminology and to find tips on identifying recycled products.

How can I start a recycling/composting program in my community?

Starting a local recycling program might not be as tough as you think. Your first step should be to get in touch with the proper authorities in your area. Most communities have recycling coordinators—government officials who have information on local recycling resources. Look in your phone book under “recycling coordinators” or contact your local Department of Public Works or Department of Sanitation.

You also can visit EPA’s Office of Solid Waste Concerned Citizen page and EPA’s WasteWise Web site to find information and resources to help you start, maintain, or expand a recycling program in your community.

If you have specific questions about solid waste management in your community, contact your EPA regional office, or your state agency.

Can you help me find informational materials (posters, pamphlets, etc.) to encourage participation in recycling and other issues in my community?

View a list of EPA’s recycling publications and materials. These materials are downloadable or available from EPA at no charge.

EPA offers the following additional materials designed to encourage children and adults to recycle. These materials are available on EPA’s Web site.

Planet Protectors Club Kit (EPA530-E-98-002) is a kit that takes children on a learning adventure with challenging activity books, educational games, and mysterious stories that illustrate “the three Rs.” The kit includes the following resources, which also are available separately:

Ride the Wave of the Future: Recycle Today! (EPA 530-SW-90-010)
Promotes recycling through a colorful poster designed to appeal to all grade levels. Can be displayed in conjunction with recycling activities or used to help foster recycling.

A Collection of Solid Waste Resources (EPA 530-C-00-003)
Interactive CD-ROM containing all of the electronic files for publications and materials created by EPA’s Office of Solid Waste, with topics ranging from recycling and municipal solid waste to home health care, household hazardous waste, composting, and life cycle management. The most recent addition also contains games and activities for children.

Volunteer for Change–A Guide To Environmental Community Service (EPA 530-K-01-002)
Resource booklet designed to assist citizens interested in initiating environmental volunteer projects. Includes “the ABCs of volunteering,” as well as short descriptions of 12 environmental volunteer activities undertaken by citizens across the nation.

Non-EPA resources to promote recycling include:

Sample Recycling Posters Exit EPA

The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) Exit EPA is offering free recycling information materials to support office paper reduction campaigns. CIWMB also provides clip art Exit EPA and publications and resources Exit EPA to help promote any recycling effort.

Plastic.Org Exit EPA provides resources and educational materials to help promote plastic recycling in schools and communities.

The Glass Packaging Institute Exit EPA provides recycling resources and a recycling educational guides for teachers.

The Steel Recycling Institute Exit EPA provides steel recycling resources, publications, and educational materials.

TAPPI, Exit EPA the technical association for the worldwide pulp, paper, and converting industry, provides an educational Web site for teachers and students about paper recycling that includes a variety of resources and links.

The National Recycling Coalition (NRC), Exit EPA a coalition of businesses, environmental groups, and individuals interested in promoting recycling, includes recycling resources and recycling advocacy information.

Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB) Exit EPA is a nonprofit organization that provides information to educate individuals about litter prevention and ways to reduce, reuse, recycle, and properly manage waste materials.

My community just started to charge residents based on the amount of garbage they throw away. Why is this necessary? What are the benefits of Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) programs?

Image for a Pay-As-You-Throw program, representing a container and a bag with whcih waste is collected, and a recycling bin with which recyclables are collectedTraditionally, residents pay for waste collection and disposal through property taxes or a fixed fee, regardless of how much—or how little—trash they generate. Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) programs break with tradition by treating trash services just like electricity, gas, and other utilities. Households pay a variable rate depending on the amount of garbage they throw away. More than 5,000 communities across the United States have a PAYT program in place. In most of these programs, residents are charged a fee for each bag or can of waste they generate. The less individuals throw away, the less they pay.

EPA supports this approach to solid waste management for three main reasons:

Environmental sustainability. Communities with programs in place have reported significant increases in recycling and reductions in waste, due primarily to the cost incentive created by PAYT. Less waste and more recycling mean that fewer natural resources need to be extracted.

Economic sustainability. PAYT is an effective tool for communities struggling to cope with soaring MSW management expenses. Well designed programs help communities generate the revenues they need to cover their solid waste management costs, including the costs of recycling and composting programs. Residents benefit, too, because they have the opportunity to take control of their trash bills.

Equity. When the cost of managing trash is hidden in taxes or charged at a flat rate, residents who recycle and prevent waste subsidize their neighbors’ wastefulness. Under PAYT, residents pay only for what they throw away.

For more information, visit EPA’s PAYT Web site.

What are deposit-refund systems?

Under a deposit-refund system, certain products or containers have a special front-end surcharge, or deposit, placed on them by manufacturers. This surcharge is then refunded to the consumer when he or she returns quantities of the containers or products for recycling or proper disposal.

Historically, deposit-refund systems have been applied, primarily at the state level, to glass, aluminum, or plastic drink bottles and cans. Nine states currently have a 5-cent deposit-refund on soft-drink bottles and cans, and one state has a 10-cent deposit-refund. These systems are being expanded to include other types of products as well. For example, in some areas deposit refunds are being applied to office products, such as photocopy machine toner cartridges. States like Maine and Rhode Island have established deposit-refund systems to encourage the recycling of lead-acid/automobile batteries.

State deposit-refund systems provide an incentive to recycle and, therefore, reduce the quantity of solid waste produced. The systems also can help state regulatory agencies reach their enforcement and compliance program objectives by reducing the need for additional regulatory resources. Theoretically, any product that is currently disposable and contains materials that can be reused is a candidate for a deposit-refund system.

The Expert answers:

What Is Biodiesel ?
Bio-diesel is the ‘green’ fuel for the future.
It is a truly sustainable environmentally friendly biofuel and generates no harmful emissions. It can be used in standard diesel engines without modifications being required. Its ingredients are waste cooking oils and fats but it can also be made from organic oil, rapeseed oil, Soya or other vegetable oils.

In chemical terms, Bio-diesel consists of long chain fatty acids derived from renewable lipid sources. The lipid (vegetable oil, animal fat or, as in our process, cooking oil) is treated with a light alcohol in the presence of a catalyst. This gives two products, glycerine and Bio-diesel, both of which are bio-degradable and non-hazardous.

When used in diesel fuel engines, Biodiesel performance is similar to petroleum-based diesel fuel. Its higher viscosity can be reduced by a variety of relatively simple processes giving better atomisation in the injector system and an improved spray pattern.

Fleet managers have found that Biodiesel gives similar operating performance to conventional diesel fuel and requires no changes in facilities. This gives it a major advantage over other possible ‘alternative’ fuels.

The waste cooking oil is readily available from our sister company, Oilco Cooking oils. About 85% of the output is Bio-diesel and the remaining 15% is glycerine. Naturally occurring micro-organisms attack and degrade glycerine with no harmful effect. This by-product can therefore be disposed of without requiring complex ‘decontamination’ systems or long-distance transport to specialist disposal premises.

Is It Safe ?

Many tests have been carried out on various aspects of the safety of Bio-diesel and the key points that emerged were :

Its toxicity in water is far lower than the toxicity of petroleum-based diesel fuel by a factor of between 15 and 200.

Its flash point is much higher than that of petroleum-based diesel fuel and it is therefore safer to store and to use. The air/fuel vapour produced by Biodiesel is not explosive.

There is a major reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particles (in particular the sulphate fraction is eliminated and the solid hydrocarbon fraction is greatly reduced). The nitrogen oxide levels are not significantly changed.

Who Gains ?

We all do.

Indirectly we will all benefit from any move towards a fully sustainable non-polluting biofuel such as Biodiesel rather than using the ever-decreasing fossil fuel resources. This combines with the benefits of nil emissions, and a useful and bio-degradable by-product in the production process. It has been shown that Bio-diesel has a far shorter bio-degradation time than standard diesel fuel (and that a 20% admixture of Bio-diesel significantly reduces the degradation time for standard diesel).

Direct gains will occur for Companies who use Biodiesel as the nil emission level will reduce the tax payable on Company vehicles and many tests have shown no difference in performance. After all, the first diesel engine was engineered to be run on peanut oil and not mineral oil. Most car manufacturers recognise Biodiesel as a ‘real’ fuel and will honour warranties as a result.

Another direct gain will come for businesses needing to dispose of waste cooking oil. Most such waste oil is currently recycled, under strict controls, in animal feeds and we use about 35,000 litres a week for making Bio-Diesel. There is a plan to ban the use of waste oil in animal feeds and, if this occurs, catering and other industries will be looking for alternative ways of disposing of their waste. It is therefore likely that our usage will increase to over 100,000 litres a week.

We at Greenstar Biofuels feel that the government should themselves be introducing Bio-diesel into the market place within the next few years with a target of 2-3% of total fuel used in the UK, increasing to 10% in ten years. Quite apart from the cost savings to the consumer there would be a triple environmental advantage : lower emission levels, reduced use of the limited petroleum resources and an efficient disposal system for a waste product. Taken as a whole this has to be a good political plus point !

Who Loses ?

The taxman. The duty on Bio-diesel is, at the moment, 27p per litre compared to 47p for diesel. This means that the overall cost should be less by a few pence per litre Biodiesel Emissions

Biodiesel is the first and only alternative fuel to have a complete evaluation of emission results and potential health effects submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act Section 211(b). These programs include the most stringent emissions testing protocols ever required by EPA for certification of fuels or fuel additives. The data gathered complete the most thorough inventory of the environmental and human health effects attributes that current technology will allow.

EPA has surveyed the large body of biodiesel emissions studies and averaged the Health Effects testing results with other major studies. The results are seen in the table below.

Average biodiesel emissions compared to conventional diesel according to EPA
Emission type B100 B20
Regulated:
Total Unburned Hydrocarbons -67% -20%
Carbon Monoxide -48% -12%
Particulate Matter -47% -12%
Nox +10% +2%

Non-Regulated
Sulphates -100% -20%*
PAH (polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons)** -80% -13%
nPAH (Nitrated PAH’s)** -90% -50%***
Ozone potential of specialis -50% -10%

* Estimated from B100 result
** Average reduction across all compounds measured
*** 2-nitroflourine results were within test method variability

The overall ozone (smog) forming potential of biodiesel is less than diesel fuel.
The ozone forming potential of the speciated hydrocarbon emissions was 67 percent less than that measured for diesel fuel.

Sulfur emissions are essentially eliminated with pure biodiesel.
The exhaust emissions of sulfur oxides and sulfafes (major components of acid rain) from biodiesel were essentially eliminated compared to diesel.

Criteria pollutants are reduced with biodiesel use.
Tests show the use of biodiesel in diesel engines results in substantial reductions of unburned
hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and par+iculate matter. Emissions of nitrogen oxides stay the same or are slightly increased.

Carbon Monoxide –
The exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide (a poisonous gas) from biodiesel are on average 47 percent lower than carbon monoxide emissions from diesel.

Particulate Matter –
Breathing particulate has been shown to be a human health hazard. The exhaust emissions of par+iculate matter from biodiesel are about 47 percent lower than overall particulate matter emissions from diesel.

Hydrocarbons –
The exhaust emissions of total hydrocarbons (a contributing factor in the localized formation of smog and ozone) are on average 67 percent lower for biodiesel than diesel fuel.

Nitrogen Oxides –
NOx emissions from biodiesel increase or decrease depending on the engine family and testing procedures. NOx emissions (a contributing factor in the localized formation of smog and ozone) from pure (100%) biodiesel increase on average by 10 percent. However, biodiesel’s lack of sulfur allows the use of NOx control technologies that cannot be used with conventional diesel. Additionally, some companies have successfully developed additives to reduce Nox emissions in biodiesel blends.

Biodiesel reduces the health risks associated with petroleum diesel.
Biodiesel emissions show decreased levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nPAH), which have been identified as potential cancer causing
compounds. In Health Effects testing, PAH compounds were reduced by 75 to 85 percent, with the exception of benzo (a) anthracene, which was reduced by roughly 50 percent. Targeted nPAH compounds were also reduced dramatically with biodiesel, with 2-nitrofluorene and 1- nitropyrene reduced by 90 percent, and the rest of the nPAH compounds reduced to only trace levels.

The Expert answers:

It means youre a whore who needs a job?

The Expert answers:

At our office, they make it to the recycling bin very quickly.

Am I going to take someone seriously who just spams my fax machine? No… In fact, we have no HR people in our local office, so it’s a waste of time and paper.

In business/management consulting, I’d expect a stronger job candidate to use interpersonal skills to contact someone at the organization, know something about the company, and try to be alert and aware to potential jobs that are posted or ask about those that are not.

I’d rather hire a person with those skills than someone who can pay someone to spam my fax.

The Expert answers:

This makes a good point , and not to correct you but you forgot all the big Oaks and Redwoods cut down to make the churches and all the gold and the marble etc. Dug from the Earth so only the wealthy can have the bigass churches to go to and the peasants had to pray in the slums before all the romans slaughtered them. People will never realize that Earth is God and that the only heaven there is. But since God did not do a good enough job man will destroy Earth to prove a point that he is the supreme being over all other living creatures and the Earth will prevail no matter what man does. Well, the Earth will , but man will kill himself off with ignorance and greed for riches that are dwindling down as the decades pass. Recycle the bible ; people will never do that because that is more important to them than a tree . What they are blind about is the fact that for every tree planted it is for a Christmas tree to be cut down and all other trees that are planted are are for wind breaks and quick covers and these trees don’t last but a few years. For 1 tree planted , hundreds are cut down in the rain forrests to graze cattle for the choke and puke’s like McDonalds. As a teenager I worked while in school to clean the highways as Ladybird Johnson so asked ” Clean up America”.The 6 pack plastic ring tops and the metal pop tabs were everywhere. Now this generation of the who cares people, are polluting with plastic bottles , Walmart bags, diapers, and constant throw away plastic toys kiddies out grow. They go to landfills.This is just a sample of the toxic waste. Women are getting cancer from being exposed to estrogen mimicking plastics and don’t even want to hear about it. I have planted over 200 trees on my land in the last 16 years and a lot of which are pines , oaks and maples . The pines provide shelter for the wildlife and wind breaks in the winter. I have several trees that are 75 years old that I have stood and fought the Electric company that hired some company to prune around wires . They want to top the trees but I won and they ended up making a V around the tree top. It still looks like sh!t but instead of running condouite/w electric underground beside the road they pay big bucks to just rip the trees. I like to have electric but you can cut a tree right so it doesn’t harm it .I have never sprayed any chem lawn products and have a lush big yard after all the beautifull dandelions have died and I have honey bees in the clover to help my fruit trees.I only have 1 bible and it was a gift my Mother left when she died and now I have it because the factory my Mother worked at gave a bible for each child born. When it comes to Religion I only know fron the facts I watch on the history and learning channel. I don’t read the bible because it makes no sense to me and what I have heard pepole say about it is so many different tales I don’t have the time to care. I saw an answer on one of your questions ( Ladin) where people said you are supposed to pray in private. Then why go to church to pray! That is a hypocrite to me.I bet we could have National Health Care for the money spent on building and up keep of these churches, not to mention if they were not TAX-exempt. Gesuz can’t save the trees cause he couldn’t even save himself from death. If HUN had not had the Pope pay him off not to attack his village and he had not died at the age of 47 from internal bleeding from probably war injuries Christianity may have never been.This is also something to think on. I did.I do recycle and I don’t shop Walmart. There is too many people on this Earth now for it to substain and I can see the day coming when we will be told that we can have only so many kids and if we disagree, abortion will come into action. Good question here YippyYahQQ.Don’t forget all the people that are cutting down trees right and left to burn for heat because the greedybastard in office has propane so damnhigh people cant afford clean heat ! Plus, you can bet he isn’t going to push alternate car fuels even though he flaps his idiot mouth on TV about how we have got to stop depending on fossil fuels and find other means for fuel.That is amazing!