Alternative Energy and Recycling

Alternative energy is a fantastic energy source and is a major plus to benefiting the environment and its recycling efforts.

One of the most exciting things about recycling as a social phenomena, is the ability of waste reduction schemes to help foster other “green” technologies and programs. Given the serious social, climatological and political ramifications of reliance upon fossil fuels, anything that helps encourage the use of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, tidal, geothermal and hydro power is a massive benefit to society.

The connection between recycling and alternative energy, aside from both being “green” solutions to waste and pollution problems, is political as well as personal. For instance, someone who is motivated to be passionate about recycling is likely to be an advocate of carbon-neutral power. This is true for governments as well as individuals. There are even technologies that can actually produced bio-fuel from previously landfilled materials such as plastic and organic-waste derived methane.

Alternative energy is being sought by more and more people on an individual basis and in economic production. Not only in many instances does it save money but environmental awareness is becoming more prominent.

The North American Tire Waste Management Problem

Have you ever thought of how many automobile tires are used and become redundant to the motorist? There are nearly half a billion cars on the road in North America. This staggering figure has one thing in common – with rare exception, they all have four tires, each! Given that they are consumable materials, it is estimated that about 350 million tires are disposed of each year. As such, the processing, transport, wear and disposal of these tires is a massive concern, partly because they are so large and durable.

Almost without fail they are made from petroleum products instead of natural rubber, which was phased out in the 1960s. Often they also contain steel belts for additional stability, too. Since the mid-20th century, the life of tires has increased significantly, and this life-span can be increased with proper inflation, wheel balancing and rotation. But eventually, the tread wears too thin to be safe and they must be replaced.

Recycling of tires into other materials such as basketball courts, artificial turf and road surfaces is a very common end to the life of a North American tire, since warehousing them has been identified as a fire hazard and a mosquito breeding ground by environmental scientists.

Waste Management and Toxins From Landfill Sites

Migration of Toxins from Landfill Sites

There’s more than a bunch of rubbish to be concerned about at landfill sites, and a whole lot more than methane to be contained. Consider what trash, some of it dating back decades, is made of. In many cases, the breakdown components of the furniture polish, hair spray and pesticides that people threw out with abandon are just now becoming known to environmental scientists.

The pace of creation for man-made chemicals began its steep acceleration as early as the 1910s, during and after World War One. This just happens to be about the time that the concept of a “sanitary” landfill was popularized in North America. Like the ability of these landfills to expand and really cram the waste in, the mid-century was a time of great expansion on several fronts: novel chemical creation, consumer consumption and waste generation.

What remains unknown is what happens to these chemicals when their byproducts interact in the seepage that has been shown to flow from nearly all landfills.

Working In A Recycling Facility

Would You Want to Work in a Recycling Facility?

While the recycling industry does provide real, living-wage jobs for many thousands of people, not all these jobs would be considered suitable by many people. For instance, the front line jobs on the sorting line of a recycling facility are usually smelly, noisy and sometimes, downright dangerous.

In urban areas where recycling is an emerging and growing industry, one solution to the problem of finding people to take these jobs is to preferentially give them to homeless people who need to establish a job history. This has worked well in many areas, though turnover rates continue to be rather high, despite relatively high wages.

Of course, the feasibility of any recycling program is dependent upon a skilled workforce that is capable of providing a very pure product. This takes some time on the line to develop the skills necessary to make spot-decisions regarding recycled materials.

What Does The Future Hold For Recycling?

Future Improvements in Recycling Technology

So, what does the future hold for recycling? In the short term, increased investment in recycling infrastructure and over all improvements in recycling rates should continue to increase. More and more cities are going to semi-automated sorting and co-mingled collection, even when self-sorting had been a long-established norm.

However, over the long term, the goal of increasing the number of products that can be recycled (most notably, many types of otherwise immortal plastics) is the most important. Increases in recycling efficiency and the ability to create an even more pure recycled product is also in the cards.

Over the next few decades, it is likely that the price of energy will continue an overall upward trend. As such, the energetics of recycling will continue to make it a more and more attractive option. Increases in energy efficiency in the recycling process will also be major areas of interest for researchers and investors.

Selling Communities on Recycling Programs

Though nearly everyone agrees that recycling is a laudable goal, not all communities are willing to put their money where their constituent’s hearts lie. Often this is a result of an ill-conceived foray into the recycling industry, especially when local or regional officials are fueled by promises of recycling riches. When these fail to materialize in short order, the political will to keep up with such programs can wane.

One way to make sure that your community continues to adequately fund the establishment of a recycling program until it really takes off is to attend council meetings and keep up to political pressure through direct contact and letters.

Another way to keep recycling programs on track is to do your best job to adequately sort the recycling materials, as your program calls for. You can also encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same, becoming the neighborhood “master recycler.”

Rechargeable Batteries and The Various Types

Rechargeable batteries can be used over and over again, therefore their value far outweighs that of batteries used once and thrown away to the environment.

A Profile of the Various Types of Rechargeable Batteries

Automobiles use lead-acid batteries. In addition to the lead-acid batteries that are found in automobiles, there is a dizzying array of rechargeable battery types to choose from, even within the same battery configuration and size.

Lithium-ion

By the late ‘aughts, the Li-ion battery is perhaps the most popular type of non-automotive used in consumer electronics in North America. This is primarily due to its user friendly nature, as it has a high weight to charge ratio, little discharge loss and no pesky memory of past charge levels.

Nickel-metal hydride

Invented in the 1980s, these batteries are able to deliver considerably more power than their Nickel-cadmium counterparts that have been around for over a century. However, they do discharge much faster and have a much shorter life-span.

Nickel-cadmium

These are the oldest type of commonly used small batteries and are very sturdy, taking up to several thousand charges. They do, however, deliver a less stable voltage than their more modern counterparts. Also, cadmium is a highly toxic metal.

If you need to use batteries, use rechargeable batteries, as you are ‘recycling.’

Common Recycling That Does More Harm Than Good

Even when you want to an think you’re doing the right thing by tossing something into the recycling bin, you may actually be doing more harm than good. Recyclers are quick to point out that they appreciate that people want to recycle, but there are several common materials that are not usually taken at the curbside because they contaminate recycled products, resulting in a less useful end-product.

Though all systems are a bit different (and that’s part of the problem), some of the most commonly problematic materials include bio-plastics, such as spoons, packing peanuts and other containers. Plastic bags are among the worst offenders, clogging up an entire packing line when they sneak in. Other problem materials include plastic lined aluminum and steel cans, aluminum foil and plastic bottle caps that are usually made of a different material than the recyclable bottle.

Recycling materials are often misunderstood and some people confuse what can be recycled and what can’t. By throwing a particular object into a recycling bin that cannot be recycled can cause the whole bin to be rendered useless. Tonnes of recycled material has been ruined for the sake of one non-recyclable item.