Recycling

Thai tech pioneer presents breakthrough in recycling

A technology pioneer in Thailand who found his own scientific research firm has discovered a way to convert waste into wealth—by converting laminated paper to reusable plastic. He demonstrates his invention by dropping a small laminated piece of paper into a jar that contains some cloudy liquid. In a few minutes, he holds up the paper under flowing tap water to help wash down paper pulp, revealing a clear piece of plastic film. With his invention, he hopes to grow his young business into a multimillion dollar entity.

Sangchai’s company, Flexoresearch, is in the late stages of developing a series of blended enzymes that strips paper pulps or fibers from laminated material such as milk cartons, stickers and cigarette packets, separating it from plastic and thus making it possible to recycle similar waste materials. An enzyme in the mixture first breaks down the coat of water resistant chemical on the surface, and then the other enzymes step in to strip down all the paper fibers, pulps and adhesive layers, isolating the plastic material. The pulp that the enzymes retrieve can thus be recycled to save trees, or to serve as an asbestos alternative to help combat lunch cancer caused by asbestos fibers.

His firm’s research is currently the first of its kind in the entire globe. Apart from being able to recover paper pulp, plastics can be recovered safely as well without adverse side effects to health, thus hitting two birds with one stone by being able to recover two materials from a single waste product. Thus, Sangchai’s firm was named by the World Economic Forum as one of 31 “Technology Pioneers”, which says that Flexoresearch technology will be able to reduce asbestos use globally and thus have a direct positive impact on health.

Grassroots Environmental Movement Begins $5,000 Contest

New grass roots movements are launched everyday around America and other nations across the world, encouraging citizens to stand up for something they believe in. These movements can be anything from something small-scale and simple, such as promoting public safety in the local neighborhood, or to something much wider in scope, such as an entire national political movement.

A movement known as Paper Retriever, which is a community paper-recycling program, asks individuals to share their input on how recycling impacts your local and global environment. The movement is offering a prize of $5,000 for the grand prize winner, who will create a winning original piece of artwork, photograph, video, or written word to show how recycling impacts the environment. Winners will also receive a $500 dollar donation to a local Paper Retriever center, helping to promote community recycling programs.

Their aim is to help educate individuals on how recycling can truly make a difference in their ecosystem. Paper Retriever is a grassroots movement formed of a conglomerate of non-profit organizations, who have raised a collective $3.8 million dollars since the program’s inception from over 15,000 contributing organizations.

Contest winners will be announced on the official “America Recycles Day” celebration on November 15, 2010. Everyone is invited to participate, so long as they are able to create an original submission. Judges will pick the best submission and runner-up submissions for honorable mentions and a permanent featured location for the top projects on the official website of Paper Retriever. 

Paper Retriever once again reminds us that creativity is the fuel of human progress.

The New Recycling of Electronic Waste

The tech boom has brought a lot of additional benefits to modern human society, not the least of which being less paper generated to fill up landfills. However, the new use of computers and laptops has created a new type of waste. The new waste that is being created when people trade out their old computers, is dubbed ‘e-waste’, due to its electronic nature, and it is also generating problems for landfills and other trash disposal systems.

Going Green Computers, a company founded by Bradley Frick in Illinois, has been working to recycle old computers so that they don’t end up in our nations’ landfills. The landfills are already crowded, and companies such as Frick’s intend to keep as many laptops and used desktop computers out of those landfills. Currently it is estimated that only 13% of disposed computers are recycled, even though they make up the fastest growing segment of waste today.

By stripping down old computers for parts before they end up in a landfill, companies like Going Green provide a needed service to the community. Many times as businesses and schools replace their aging computers, they would rather not simply toss the old ones into the trash, so recycling companies will come, pick them up and begin the recycling process so that the parts can be used again.

It is a scenario with several winners; first, the schools are able to remove their old systems without having to haul them away or create more waste. Secondly, the recycling company makes a profit from the resale.

Benefits of Recycling

Recycling is process that should be the primary means of disposing garbage and any other unwanted goods. The primary reason for this is the drastic reduction in raw materials required to produce a specific product. However, there are many other reasons for embracing recycling as well.

The immense reduction in the volume of waste that goes to landfills is a major benefit to the environment and as result to us as well. Recycling reduces the amount of space needed but also pollution caused by chemical leakage and incineration. The realization that raw materials are a finite resource is leading many companies to employ buy-back programs. This not only helps the world manage its resources better but also lowers cost for businesses that do not need to purchase raw materials anymore. This also helps to bring down energy costs, as it is far more expensive to produce something from a scratch. Recycling creates a new industry for people to partake in, which means more jobs and in this time of recession, jobs are worth more than gold.

Recycling can also be a fun venture for many communities. It offers an opportunity for people to come together for a common cause that is for the betterment of all. In addition, recycling can be profitable, financially, by selling the material collected, back to the manufacturers. Using these profits to build facilities or services for the community is yet another benefit to recycling in making this world a better place to live in.
The bottom line is, natural resources on our planet are dwindling and the environment is under threat as well. Recycling is the natural way to combat both these problems and build a better future for our children.

Recycle your used cell phone and make some money

Getting a new cell phone is great – it’s a chance to upgrade to the latest technology and take advantage of the hottest apps and features. But it also creates a problem: what do you do with you old smartphone or other cellular device? You can recycle it, but that seems like a waste of money. Chances are that you spent a lot of money for your cell phone not too long ago when it was at the bleeding edge of technology.

Until recently, your options were limited for getting any value out of an old cell phone. You could attempt to sell an old cell phone on Craigslist or eBay, but there was no guarantee that you would get a fair value or even find an interested buyer. Selling your cell phone through one of these sites is often complicated and takes more time than it is worth.

The good news is that things have changed. There’s now a new way for people to get the most value for their old cell phones and smartphones. Sell Cell is a new website which makes it easy for individuals to get the most money for their old cell phones. The site aggregates used cell phone prices offered by the leading cell phone manufacturing sites. This lets a customer find which sites are offering the best price for their particular make and model of cell phone at one site instead of having to visit website after website to make the comparison themselves.

Sell Cell makes it easy for consumers to get rid of their unwanted cell phones and get the most cash back. All you need to do is select the offer you like for your phone and mail it to the recycling company. Once they’ve received the phone, you’ll get paid. That’s all there is to it — no fuss and no haggling!

To find out more about how to get the most value out of your old cell phone or smartphone, visit www.sellcell.com.

Recycling Used Books

Parting with books is incredibly hard. However, when you consider the fact that only twenty-four books are produced for every tree felled, passing on books to other people does make sense. When you do make up your mind to put away books you no longer need, these tips could help make the exercise fun and rewarding:

” Donate your books to the local library or your school library. It is a comforting fact knowing that your old books will be read by hundreds of people who will appreciate them.
” Throw a book-swap party. These parties can be loads of fun, especially if you throw in some wine and cheese. Invite friends and family.
” Make some money off your old books. Second-hand bookshops will buy your old books. You could even try putting them up for sale online. This could be a good way of making a bit of money, which you could then spend on a ‘book-shopping-spree’.
” Swap books online. There are many websites that offer book-swapping mechanisms. This is a great way to read those books you’ve never been able to get your hands on or are too expensive.
” Share the love. Local hospitals would welcome your old books with open arms for their patients’ reading pleasure.
” Save the environment. Sell your books on environment websites that donate money to environmental trusts for every book sold.
” Let your book travel. BookCrossing is one way you can do this, by leaving your book at a bus stop, restaurant or hotel for a new reader. You can tag your books with a unique code to track their travels around the world.

Waste Recycling Does Actually Help the Environment!

Recycling is much talked about in many forums these days. Countries around the world have taken measures to ensure materials such as paper, metals and glass are reused and recycled. While such recycling is important towards the conservation of the environment, it helps to save on resources as well. The process of recycling also reduces pollution and waste generation. Here’s how waste recycling helps the environment:

” Reduces the use of non-renewable resources – like petroleum. Such materials act as raw materials in the production of several items. Materials like petroleum take years to be formed, and there is a need reduce their usage.
” Reduces landfills – waste pileups lead to landfills, making it not just a sore sight but a definite threat to the environment. To prevent such hazards, landfills are generally sealed, inhibiting the degradation process. Recycling reduces the load on landfills.
” Reduces pollution – the production and refining process of glass and metals releases a lot of smoke and harmful carbon dioxide into the environment. Recycling reduces the levels of pollution. Dumping items like batteries, cell phones, electronic devices and computers containing lead – which then leaks into the soil and water resources, damaging flora and fauna, animals and even humans. Landfills breed pests such as mosquitoes and rats responsible for harmful diseases.
” Helps protect nature – constant use of raw materials used for paper, fuel and the like disrupts the balance in the environment, destroying natural habitats and leading to the extinction of plants and animals.

Practice recycling and reuse at home. It is the best place to start saving the environment.

Recycling – Fitting a Recycled Kitchen Was Easier Than I Thought

There has been a lot of buzz created in recent times regarding the welfare of the environment and one of the simplest ways people can contribute is by recycling. I’ve learned that recycling goes beyond sorting out the trash and putting them in to the different containers to that they can be recycled. Therefore when remodeling my kitchen, I decided to include a recycled kitchen.

The toughest part is to find recycled kitchens. Therefore first call the local building firms to see if they have any old kitchens that they may be willing to part with. I noticed that the building companies were more than helpful to get rid of the old kitchens. However, most of the time the kitchens were either torn out or made of Formica or Chipboard. Luckily for me, I checked out the builders who work on the more wealthy and affluent homes and I came across a wonderful, hand-made, solid wood kitchen that the owners were more than happy to part with. After sanding and polishing the cupboards they were good as new.

This is an easy way to save money on a new kitchen. Some of these kitchens are barely used and ideal for use as a recycled kitchen. You can also check with your local builders for almost new kitchen sinks, taps and other peripherals you may require. Fitting a recycled kitchen isn’t half as hard as it seems. You just need to look in the right places.

Battery Recycling

Nearly three billion batteries are sold annually in the United States, approximately ten batteries per person. It is estimated that the average person throws out eight dry cell batteries each year. Most of them end up in landfills where they can cause fires and injury, release toxic gases or in some way contribute to the contamination of the soil, water and air. Battery recycling is becoming more important as an increasing number of products require the use of batteries to operate, and more dead batteries are being disposed of using unsafe and potentially dangerous methods.

Ninety percent of lead acid car batteries are recycled. Typically, any dealer that sells car batteries will also accept used ones for recycling. Recycling car batteries is mandatory in most states. As a result, new batteries contain sixty to eighty percent recycled lead and plastic.

There are some companies that recycle alkaline and zinc carbon batteries, however it is not necessary. These batteries can be safely disposed of in normal municipal waste. The exception is in California, where non-households are required to dispose of these batteries in accordance with California Universal Waste Rules.

Neither rechargeable batteries (commonly used in cordless power tools, cell phones, laptop computers and digital cameras) nor button cell batteries (the types used in watches and hearing aids) should ever be disposed of in the trash. Hazardous waste collections sites will accept used batteries for recycling. Many municipalities have scheduled collection dates in which residents can deliver hazardous waste for safe disposal.

Recycling Batteries

Recycling is not only good for the environment, it is good for a persons pocketbook. It is very important to recycle batteries which are composed of tough materials that cannot biodegrade. It is important that things like batteries be returned to manufacturers who know how to reduce them and redistribute the materials so that it can be reused again. Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling, in this case is imperative in this case so that these materials do not have to be made or mined again.

There are many kinds of batteries out there and they all can and should be recycled. There are:

– Lead-acid automotive batteries
– Non-automotive lead-based batteries
– Dry cell batteries

It is required by law that retailers accept and recycle used lead-acid based batteries. The 2006 Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Act regulated battery manufacturing and required that all batteries be easy to remove to facilitate the recovery of batteries for recycling. Batteries were also required to be labeled informing the consumers of the batteries makeup. The three arrows symbol also has to be located on the battery. According to an article put out on battery recycling by the Environmental protection Agency there has to be conformity or continuity in collection, storage, and moving of certain batteries across the nation. The act also required that manufacturers turn away from using mercury in batteries.

For more information about battery recycling The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, which is a not for profit, is a great information resource for people seeking more information about battery recycling.

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