Your Questions About Recycling
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Filed under Recycling Q & A
Richard asks…
Recycling, is it true?
I’m a huge fan of Penn and Teller’s show Bull…poop? Anyway, their show is great. It’s entertaining, it’s enlightening, but recently I watched an episode on recycling, and it made me question whether or not recycling is worth it. My mother claims that P&T are “only entertainers” so I guess that means they’re making everything up.
So, is recycling true? You tell me.
Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onDbTL9DFpA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0mq9skLurY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfwE5y_GOIQ&feature=related
The Expert answers:
Yes, recycling is totally worth it.. I did an 8 page research paper on it just last semester. The information I found was excellent.. People claim that recycling isn’t worth it because of OLD technology.. That made it so it wasn’t worth it..
NOW most common recycling plants use lasers to sense the different types of materials, as well as sort them by hand and some other techniques. There have been all kinds of scams by people trying to make money and will say they can dispose of something properly and don’t. Now the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has a lot stricter guideliness and do monitor those things. So just because it HAS in the past been a scam it is rare to find them now.
Also recycling has actually become very profitable for cities, that is the cities where people actually participate in the recycling programs. The more and more people recycle.. The more and more profitable it is to have the program and are able to sell them and remake them into other marketable commodities. Think about it.. The more you recycle, the more worthwhile it is for the trucks to be picking up from every house. The people who don’t make any effort are the reason a recycling program wouldn’t be beneficial financially.
But any effort is beneficial environmentally.
AND RECYCLING ACCOUNTS FOR MORE JOBS THAN FAST FOOD INDUSTRYAND HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY WHICH ARE SOME OF THE LARGEST JOB PRODUCERS IN THE COUNTRY!! AND IT IS ALSO HAS HIGH PAY ROLL
Id be more than happy to show you some statistics on them.
Well-run recycling programs cost less to operate than waste collection, landfilling, and incineration.
The more people recycle, the cheaper it gets.
Two years after calling recycling a $40 million drain on the city, New York City leaders realized that a redesigned, efficient recycling system could actually save the city $20 million and they have now signed a 20-year recycling contract.
Recycling helps families save money, especially in communities with pay-as-you-throw programs.
Well-designed programs save money. Communities have many options available to make their programs more cost-effective, including maximizing their recycling rates, implementing pay-as-you-throw programs, and including incentives in waste management contracts that encourage disposal companies to recycle more and dispose of less.
[ANYONE WHO THINGS RECYCLING IS A WASTE OF TIME OR MONEY IS MISINFORMED OR JUST IGNORANT!]
James asks…
Recycled Business Card Printers?
I’m looking to print my logo and information on a business card, but I want it to be printed on recycled material and to be a thicker stock than a normal business card. Anyone know of any good places to print custom ones? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
The Expert answers:
Los Angeles printing service says they’ll be willing to print for any paper stock. They recycle their paper from paper scraps from previous print jobs and use soy/vegetable based inks. They say they give free proof before you pay and free paper sample kits.
A disclaimer though; I don’t work for Los Angeles printing service no have i tried out their service yet. But it’s worth trying out i guess?
Goodluck!
Maria asks…
Would it be safe, if I wore?
My expensive WindRunner to this recycling job I am may-be it doing? It cost 75 quid and i’d hate to damage it.
It is a Jacket not Trainers.
The Expert answers:
Well I dont know much about recycling jobs, but if you value it and it cost £75, I know I’d leave it at home…
Lizzie asks…
Question About Recycling?
Where do you bring the plastic bottles that say 5cents cash refund to?
And has anyone ever made some good money off this? I live near a lot of stores that throw away thousands weekly in the dumpster
I live in NY btw
How much money would they pay for like 20,000 plastic bottles a month, 20 oz each or more in siZe
The Expert answers:
Some people collect cans and bottles as a job, also you can find a recycling location by using earth 911. There is a link to it on are blog.
Http://youthgreenteam1.blogspot.com/p/go-green.html
Mark asks…
recycle plastic alumanium ect…….. 1paragraph?
The Expert answers:
Recycling is an easy way to serve your community, preserve natural resources and turn waste into income. Good job wanting to do this.Planet Recycling Company is a full service recycler established in 1995 to meet the increasing demand for recycling. Through participation in a recycling program, you can receive income for materials that may be currently going to your landfill. With the ever-growing demand for recycled products, now is the time to get involved and make a difference. Check them out.
Sandy asks…
can i recycle shredded plastic or shredded aluminum?
as a crafter, i make stuff with almost anything, i make candle holders and ash trays with aluminum cans and i make beads with plastic bottles, i am also planning on making fast food napkins, and turn it into yarn and turn magazine paper into beads.
can i take the leftover scraps after my crafting and put them in the recycling bin?
The Expert answers:
Marcia did a great job of answering but to put it shorter:
If you have a large volume of anything that is sorted out; it can be recycled. If you have small volumes or it isn’t sorted it likely isn’t economical.
Nancy asks…
recycling impacts of the economy?
How can recycling positively and negatively impact the economy?
The Expert answers:
Positively:
1) Recycling allows materials that would become waste to be used as valuable resources. The recyclables that you place in your bin or take to a drop-off center end up on the market as valuable commodities that contribute significantly to the economy.
2) Recycling helps businesses, other organizations and communities avoid disposal costs associated with landfills and incinerators.
3) Recycling stimulates the development of green technology. Recycling allows for and encourages the development of more environmentally friendly products. The vast supply of low-cost materials from local collection programs has spurred many businesses to develop cutting-edge technologies and products.
4) Recycling creates jobs.
I can’t really think of a negative impact of recycling on the economy, but one problem with recycling is that there needs to be a sufficient volume of recyclable materials in an area to make it a profitable venture.
Paul asks…
corporate recycling efforts?
given how much waste we produce, how much of it can be recycled or salvaged, the amount of recyclable material actually being recycled and the profitabilityof recyclable materials, would you agree or dissagree with an idea such as the one i am going to present and what are its flaws….
1. as it is most people do not sort thru their garbage for recyclable or compostable materials at all…..
2. those that do usually only do a half assed job and leave about 40% of recyclable materials in the trash either because they aren`t aware wich are and are not recyclable or feel that pulling a label of a can is wasted because its going to the recycling bin anyways…….
this is the idea:
municiple and provincial recycling programs should be shut down… people should throw all of their garbage into one bin for collection….. it should be the responsability of a corporation whose goal it is to sell and profit from these materials to collect and seperate them… right now it is costing tax payers alot of time and money to do a half assed job…. each bag of garbage that goes into the sorting plant would be shreded and magnets as well as water should easily remove any metals from the waste. water would be used to flush and seperate materials by density….. plastics will float for the most part and and can be extracted using chemical processes. linen waste such as dipers and cloth can also be romoved by scrfeening any piece bigger than an inch across would be removed from the water via a spinning wire brush. the organic materials now left can be left in a landfill and sold as compost 1-3 years later……
there is so much recyclable metals in our landfills that it would be much more cost efficient to mine a landfill that an iron mine or coppermine…. i feel that companies are enjoy the free help and feel they don`t need to get involved because although there is profit…. its still more profitable to let the public buy your materials for you……
tell me wether you agree or not and if not how would you do it?
reposting in corporate section to see if there are discrepencies in my results here…
forgive me for not spell checking or revising the text….
The Expert answers:
Too broad of a statement, and you do not seem to be aware of the realities of industry. Your statement lumps consumers and the retail environment in with the manufacturers, which is not a fair thing to do nor is it truthful.
Most of the metal products manufacturers themselves are highly efficient. Iron has been recycled for easily a century. Copper and other metals probably about as long as they have been available to industry as well.
Most retail is highly wasteful, by the nature of the business.
People- the consumers- it varies.
To accuse industry of being wasteful when it is not, and to lump them in with wasteful retail, and people who tend to fall on one side of the fence or the other- is not a fair assertion, nor is it one seeking accuracy.
So I highly disagree with your general assertion. I have worked in industry and other areas and you do not account for people just being frugal. I would wager you have a game console- I do not- with your reasoning I am much greener than you are.
If you really want to find out more information, and I strongly suggest it.
Http://www.wastenews.com
http://www.resource-recycling.com/
http://www.wasteage.com
http://www.mswmanagement.com
Daniel asks…
how can i start recycling ?
dont know anything about it . links please oh and i need an office locator as well?
The Expert answers:
All the comments above me are right.. But there is one more thing I want to add..
21 Things You Didn’t Know You Can Recycle
1. Appliances: Goodwill accepts working appliances, www.goodwill.org, or you can contact the Steel Recycling Institute to recycle them. 800/YES-1-CAN, www.recycle-steel.org.
2. Batteries: Rechargeables and single-use: Battery Solutions, 734/467-9110, www.batteryrecycling.com.
3. Cardboard boxes: Contact local nonprofits and women’s shelters to see if they Boxcan use them. Or, offer up used cardboard boxes at your local Freecycle.org listserv or on Craigslist.org for others who may need them for moving or storage. If your workplace collects at least 100 boxes or more each month, UsedCardboardBoxes.com accepts them for resale.
4. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks: Send scratched music or computer CDs, DVDs, and PlayStation or Nintendo video game disks to AuralTech for refinishing, and they’ll work like new: 888/454-3223, www.auraltech.com.
5. Clothes: Wearable clothes can go to your local Goodwill outlet or shelter. ShirtsDonate wearable women’s business clothing to Dress for Success, which gives them to low-income women as they search for jobs, 212/532-1922, www.dressforsuccess.org. Offer unwearable clothes and towels to local animal boarding and shelter facilities, which often use them as pet bedding. Consider holding a clothes swap at your office, school, faith congregation or community center. Swap clothes with friends and colleagues, and save money on a new fall wardrobe and back-to-school clothes.
6. Compact fluorescent bulbs: Take them to your local IKEA store for recycling: www.ikea.com.
7. Compostable bio-plastics: You probably won’t be able to compost these in your home compost bin or pile. Find a municipal composter to take them to at www.findacomposter.com.
8. Computers and electronics: Find the most responsible recyclers, local and national, at www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html.
9. Exercise videos: Swap them with others at www.videofitness.com.
10. Eyeglasses: Your local Lion’s Club or eye care chain may collect these. Lenses Glassesare reground and given to people in need.
11. Foam packing: Your local pack-and-ship store will likely accept foam peanuts for reuse. Or, call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers Council to find a drop-off site: 800/828-2214. For places to drop off foam blocks for recycling, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers, 410/451-8340, www.epspackaging.org/info.html
12. Ink/toner cartridges: Recycleplace.com pays $1/each.
13. Miscellaneous: Get your unwanted items into the hands of people who can use them. Offer them up on your local Freecycle.org or Craigslist.org listserv, or try giving them away at Throwplace.com or giving or selling them at iReuse.com. IReuse.com will also help you find a recycler, if possible, when your items have reached the end of their useful lifecycle.
14. Oil: Find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state: 202/682-8000, www.recycleoil.org.
15. Phones: Donate cell phones: Collective Good will refurbish your phone and sell Cellphoneit to someone in a developing country: 770/856-9021, www.collectivegood.com. Call to Protect reprograms cell phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims: www.donateaphone.com. Recycle single-line phones: Reclamere, 814/386-2927, www.reclamere.com.
16. Sports equipment: Resell or trade it at your local Play It Again Sports outlet, 800/476-9249, www.playitagainsports.com.
17. “Technotrash”: Project KOPEG offers an e-waste recycling program that can help you raise funds for your organization. Use Project KOPEG to recycle iPods, MP3 players, cell phones and chargers, digital cameras, PDAs, palm pilots, and more. Also, easily recycle all of your CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges with GreenDisk’s Technotrash program. For $30, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of any of the above. Your fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees. 800/305-GREENDISK, www.greendisk.com.
18. Tennis shoes: Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring. Www.nikereuseashoe.com. One World Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa, Latin America, and Haiti. Www.oneworldrunning.com.
19. Toothbrushes and razors: Buy a recycled plastic toothbrush or razor from ToothbrushRecycline, and the company will take it back to be recycled again into plastic lumber. Recycline products are made from used Stonyfield Farms’ yogurt cups. 888/354-7296, www.recycline.com.
20. Tyvek envelopes: Quantities less than 25: Send to Shirley Cimburke, Tyvek Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spot 197, Room 231, Richmond, VA 23234. Quantities larger than 25, call 866/33-TYVEK.
21. Stuff you just can’t recycle: When practical, send such items back to the manufacturer and tell them they need to manufacture products that close the waste loop responsibly.
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