Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Your Questions About Recycling

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Filed under Recycling Q & A

Sandy asks…

Is unused electricity recycled?

I know that some lightbulbs use electricity more efficiently than others; therefore, there should be more excess electricity if you use a forty watt bulb vs a 60 watt bulb. What happens to the rest of the electricity that wasn’t converted into light? Does it somehow get cycled back through your house? Does it get sent back to the electric company? We only pay for the electricity we use, so how does that work? Thanks!

The Expert answers:

It’s like water coming out of a tap – only as much water comes out as you let out, and the rest stays in the tank, it doesn’t have to be recycled.

Well, not quite. Each electrical load has a certain resistance, so it consumes a certain amount of power. Only that much current is drawn from the supply. The generator supplies the total amount of current required by all the loads, no more and no less. Depending on what that is, it takes more or less power to drive the generator, and so more or less fuel must be burned (or whatever other power source is used, tons of water falling down from a reservoir etc.) to make that much electrical power.

Actually, the electrical power only travels through the wires at the speed of light. So it does take a finite time (a few microseconds) for the generator to notice that a load has been turned on, and the voltage will dip for a bit. But it’s all sorted out quicker than you can notice.

The electricity meter measures the product of voltage, time and current going into your house. So it measures what you actually use, yes. Google “electricity meter”

David asks…

What is the purpose of the geological carbon cycle?

I want to know what is the geological carbon cycle

The Expert answers:

Well i will tell you . The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth. It is one of the most important cycles of the earth and allows for carbon to be recycled and reused throughout the biosphere and all of its organisms.The process by which carbon is recycled in the ecosystem by various chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes. It shows the relation ship of the carbon molecule and the rest of the earth and how its recycled , formed and distributed.

Jenny asks…

Carbon Cycle – Photosynthesis?

Alright, I am going a science project and I really need help.

I need to know how to connect Photosynthesis to the Carbon Cycle and I’m not sure how to. This is the main thing I need to do, but I also need to include

Chloroplast, Chlorophyll, roots, leaves, stems, sunlight, sugar and Interdependence. If you cant use them, then please at least answer how the carbon cycle relates to photosynthesis. Or how it relates to one of those words

Thanks in Advance. 😀

The Expert answers:

The carbon cycle involves the constant recycling and sequestration of carbon in the earth’s system. Carbon exists in many forms, as carbohydrates in wood, leaves, fruit, in organic complex molecules in animals e.g collagen or in rocks such as calcium carbonate and finally as a gas e.g carbon dioxide or methane. As carbon moves through the cycle, it will exist in one form or another at various times.

A part of the carbon cycle is the conversion of carbon dioxide into carbohydrates (sugars). This is where photosynthesis comes in. It converts carbon from carbon dioxide and hydrogen from water into glucose, fructose, starch, lignin etc etc. This happens with the aid of the sun. Chlorophyll captures energy from the sun in the chloroplasts of leaves and stems and uses this to break carbon dioxide and water molecules up and recombine them into carbohydrates and release oxygen as a byproduct. Once converted, the carbohydrates are transported all over the plant and used wherever necessary for growth.

Donna asks…

What is the purpose of the cycle for “death and rebirth”?

What is the outcome of the death and rebirth cycle?

The Expert answers:

That which once has life dies and decays its remains enriches or fertilizes the ground. When its seed falls into the rich soil it grows strong and healthy. Interesting though that it is not just the soil but also the other elements such as rain and sunshine and wind cause it to grow and mature as well.

From this perception there appears to be no rebirth of an original living organism that dies. This cycle is true for each living organism in a generation.

An alternative perception is required to get an answer for your question.

If lifeforms are segregated by species. And there is no accounting for individual generations of a species. But instead views a reproductive generation as a continuation of rather than separates them as individual. Then one could see how the recycle birth cycle is maintained for many generations.

The new cycle only recognizes only new growth then maturation, then producing new seed. Both birth and death is not recognized.

The outcome of this death and rebirth cycle appears to devalue the worth or importance of each individual generation. What is stressed in this cycle only is the continuation of the species as a whole.

From my way of thinking especially for human being any perception that devalues the worth or value of a human being and it’s individual contribution other than for reproduction is not good.

William asks…

How long to recycle my tank?

So I’m moving cross town to a new house and I moved my empty 10 gallon and let it cycle so I put my 55 gallon guys in there cause there’s only a few of them. I brought my gravel 12 gallons of my old water and put all my stuff in the water. I set up my 55 with all the water and everything today and added the safe start how long before I can add my fish back?

The Expert answers:

The water is irrelavent. The cycle bacteria live in the filter media and some on the gravel. If those have stayed wet then your should still have some bacteria.

Now the longer you leave the tank, the less cycle you will have. The bacteria you have will gradually starve if there is no source of ammonia for them. So you need to get some fish in there soon.

If you move all the fish from the small tank, along with it’s filter (or stuff the media from the small filter into the bigger one) then you wont have any cycle problems.

Moving the tank wont destroy the cycle, even if you change 100% of the water. But you need to look after your filter and gravel.

Ian

Carol asks…

How recycle banks help in recycling?

I want to know about recycle banks and how they help in recycling?

The Expert answers:

I hadn’t heard of a “recycle bank” so I went out on the net and came up with the site listed below.

Let me begin by saying that I have recycled for many years and that financial considerations have been as much if not more in my thoughts when doing so. Also, I live in an area that is generally eco-concerned and whose leaders have been facing filled/filling landfill issues for some years now.

My immediate impression at recyclebank.com was that there was a lot of banking, credit card, and retail marketing going on. I am still left with an impression that this particular site is as much about developing income potential out of recycling activities as it is anything else.

That said, this site also claims that it is about motivating people, businesses, and communities to recycle. Folks earn site points for their recycling activities which are rewarded by member participants. Folks can even earn recycle bank points for their curbside recycling volumes if, their garbage hauling system signs up for a barcoding, barcode reading, and barcode reporting system available through links on the site. Individual site members are encouraged to contact their garbage hauler and community leaders in an effort to get them to sign up. Individual site members are also encouraged to get their retailers and local businesses to sign up. The site does contain a fair amount of eco-friendly and general conservation information,

The emphasis of this site and the banking system is to recycle quantities of material in a documentable manner. There is little emphasis on the reduction of quantities of waste material in the first place. The recycling stream is simply an alternative waste stream and the ultimatly eco-friendly thing to do is to reduce all waste streams. There appears to be a great emphasis of getting quantities of matererials into the recycling stream yet, I saw nothing about completing the recycling cycle; in other words, actually re-using, re-purposoing, or re-manufacturing the collected material, If the recycling loop is not completed, all it does is form sorted piles of waste.

On the other hand, there are whole regions, communities, and individuals who aren’t particularly recycling. For example, a person in one area said: “Recycling, who would want to save this area and who cares what’s going on in the rest of the world.” While this was a person was speaking as an individual, there are no recycling programs in their community and no known plans for any. Finially, over the past two or three years the “save the Earth” folks have come to realize that personally connecting recycling and other eco-friendly practices to individuals’ and communities’ best interests is far more motivating than the controversial topic of global warming. More often than not, saving money is a powerful motivator; particularly in these economic times. The ecology movement of the 1970’s was kept alive by little measures, activities, and things done by individuals; we fail to acknowledge these little, individual acts of environmental kindness. But up until recently, little acts of environmental kindness were touted as wholey inadequate and only full commitment with sacrifice was considered green enough to be worthwhile. We are again beginning to identify, approve of, and support little acts of environmental kindness; in doing so, it is my personal hope that we re-develop a grassroots base and change of over-all culture with respect to envrionmental responsibility. This recycle bank has the potential to instruct, motivate, reward, and incite individuals, businesses, and even communities that have not been particularly pro-active in the recycling and other eviornmental movements. This site does have the potential to reach whole niches and sub-populations that other motivators and programs have not.

Joseph asks…

What is a good name for my new recycling company in Singapore? Thanks.?

My name has a “Yii”, is Yii Recycle a good name? Cheers!

The Expert answers:

1. Everlast recycle
2. Good Yii recycle
3. Yii and Young recycle
4. Good yi-cycle
5. Mesti kaya recycle and any other variations of above.

Good luck..

Helen asks…

Carbon Cycle?

Who are carbon recyclers? Consumers? What is meant by “fast track” vs. “slow track” carbon cycle?

The Expert answers:

The outputs of respiration are the inputs of photosynthesis, and the outputs of photosynthesis are the inputs of respiration. SO…both plants and animals carry on respiration(consumer), but only plants (and other producers) can carry on photosynthesis(recycler).

This fast track can take minutes to years to complete. Carbon moves from the soil, water or atmosphere through living things by photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition and back to the soil, water, or atmosphere.

But most of the carbon on Earth is recycled through a slow track that can take millions of years. As marine organisms die, their shells and skeletons become buried under layers of silt on the ocean floor and their carbon becomes part of sedimentary rock. When sediments covered marine organisms before they decomposed, the resulting heat and pressure caused huge deposits of petroleum (oil) to form.

Michael asks…

• Why are the biogeochemical cycles important to an ecosystem?

I am in a high school Biology class and can not find the information to answer the question please HELP

The Expert answers:

The biogeochemical cycles recycle the atoms that previously had been used by living things — making them available again to the producers of ecosystems. That’s very important for things like sulfur and phosphorus which can cycle locally. Carbon, oxygen, water, nitrogen cycle in the biosphere.

If these things weren’t recycled, well, then, eventually all of these things would be converted to forms that couldn’t be used by living things, so… No more living things.

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