How do we get the world to recycle?
- Thread starter chrissreef
- Start date
kaptken
New member
Uhh...? Everything is recycleable with the use of a plasma jet furnace. Every single scrap of trash or gargage or waste is reduced to its elemental constituents in a super heated gaseous plasma form, and ready to condense in a fractionating column, to collect , much like refining oil. gasses separated by cryogenic methods. the higher the temperature of the plasma, the more elemental the break down.
no problem.
or a more basic method used to recycle single stream trash is the MURF system.
no problem.
or a more basic method used to recycle single stream trash is the MURF system.
chrissreef
New member
kaptken - the question isn't how to recycle... it's how to get PEOPLE to recycle? =)
kaptken
New member
well, my county has finally started curbside pick up plus our local drop off bins. But they now take the recycleables to a MRF facility to do the separating. I must admit, i still separate everything and feel guilty just dumping it all in the same bin. but that's how it works, the MRF process mechanically separates all the stuff. so people no longer need to sort at home. that makes it much simpler to recycle and less a bother. and hopefully my county recycling rate should go up.
Plasma facilities are still under research. but has the potential to go one step farther of running exothermically on the full waste stream while breaking every bit of waste down to reusable compounds. so potenially, recycling wont require any sorting and include food wastes and toxic wastes.
Plasma facilities are still under research. but has the potential to go one step farther of running exothermically on the full waste stream while breaking every bit of waste down to reusable compounds. so potenially, recycling wont require any sorting and include food wastes and toxic wastes.
chrissreef
New member
can plasma be used on water sources? like to take out pesticides and plant foods that cause harm to natural water supplies? (at least in coastal areas where sewage is directed right into the ocean. It's not the poop I'm worried about... it's all the other stuff that's dumped/poured down drains.
kaptken
New member
Ah yes, our liquid waste stream. A great future source of bio diesel, I think, if we put our minds to it. theres a sorta new process, thermal depolymerization process, being developed in different ways by several companies. one turns 200 ton of turkey guts and feathers into bio diesel out in carthage, Mo. at the butter ball turkey slaughter house. potentially it too can precess the solids in a waste stream,. after that, the waste water could be bio filtered thru restored wetlands, or artifical wetlands, bogs, planted to best consume any organic and heavy metal waste still in the water, before flowing to a reservoir or lake. plenty of those have been built to prove the point. just not enough to make a difference. restored wetlands are being used on large scale to clean up the nitrate/phosphate runoff from sugar cane farms and cattle ranching around the everglades. and is cleaning up the glades. it can work.
Or algae farms. we can use algae pond systems to grow and harvest strains of algae that can produce more bio fuel, while consuming CO2 from the air.
but if we cant get enough people to do basic recylcing on their own, the down stream solutions could make up for it. everything starts at the store. just buy less, and waste less.
Or algae farms. we can use algae pond systems to grow and harvest strains of algae that can produce more bio fuel, while consuming CO2 from the air.
but if we cant get enough people to do basic recylcing on their own, the down stream solutions could make up for it. everything starts at the store. just buy less, and waste less.
JNye
Moved On Up
Oh Yeah! I hate bottled water! Get container and clean an extra dish every night. I recycle but not enough. I really like trying to reduce the need for recycling by avoiding the worst products...newspapers, I use the internet of course, plastic bottles, I have a jug for that! or I reuse the wife's bottles before recycling them.
Poorcollegereef
Future Doc
Scarcity, shortage, and famine? ... it forces people to buy less, waste less
Hate to say it, but a crisis is really the only way to change human behavior... and that take alot of energy
Recycling, will only be widespread when there is an incentive to do it. If it is cheap and easy to use waterbottles, then people will buy and not reuse normal reusable contaiers... but if plastic costs a few bucks to manufacture, then things will change.
Working in transportation planning has shown me that unless you hit the masses where it is important, then it doesnt matter. Personal ethics is hard to alter but everyone always gives in to economic issues (for the general public). Why would someone take transit when gas is cheap? Why would someone live in a urban area when land is cheap 45 minutes away? In 2003, I worked on a survey in which folks responded that if gas hit $3, then 70% would ditch their cars for other modes... well at $4... people are still addicted to their SUV (my fiance included)... but things are changing slightly. Biofuels are not an answer, they are a substitite... it like switching wine for beer for an alcoholic.
I love my car (it gets up to 37mpg) but I really hope gas hits $8-10+... it will suck for the US economy until we switch the energy source... but we have change infrastructure before... going from mules and horses to autos, canals to rail... so this shouldn't be an issue we cant overcome
Also: use aluminum... best reuseble resource common on the market and only has a decomp lifespan of 75-100y compared to plastic of 500-1000y
Hate to say it, but a crisis is really the only way to change human behavior... and that take alot of energy
Recycling, will only be widespread when there is an incentive to do it. If it is cheap and easy to use waterbottles, then people will buy and not reuse normal reusable contaiers... but if plastic costs a few bucks to manufacture, then things will change.
Working in transportation planning has shown me that unless you hit the masses where it is important, then it doesnt matter. Personal ethics is hard to alter but everyone always gives in to economic issues (for the general public). Why would someone take transit when gas is cheap? Why would someone live in a urban area when land is cheap 45 minutes away? In 2003, I worked on a survey in which folks responded that if gas hit $3, then 70% would ditch their cars for other modes... well at $4... people are still addicted to their SUV (my fiance included)... but things are changing slightly. Biofuels are not an answer, they are a substitite... it like switching wine for beer for an alcoholic.
I love my car (it gets up to 37mpg) but I really hope gas hits $8-10+... it will suck for the US economy until we switch the energy source... but we have change infrastructure before... going from mules and horses to autos, canals to rail... so this shouldn't be an issue we cant overcome
Also: use aluminum... best reuseble resource common on the market and only has a decomp lifespan of 75-100y compared to plastic of 500-1000y
JNye
Moved On Up
You're right Scott M. thats why its prolly better to stay away from the worst materials, plastics.
I heard some study that said we have plenty of safe places to stash our garbage and its really not too big of a concern. kinda makes sense, after you fill the landfill you can use that land for something, maybe not building. They built a super nice(suposidly) golf course on top of the one by my area. But I don't golf, environmental nightmare of a game.
I heard some study that said we have plenty of safe places to stash our garbage and its really not too big of a concern. kinda makes sense, after you fill the landfill you can use that land for something, maybe not building. They built a super nice(suposidly) golf course on top of the one by my area. But I don't golf, environmental nightmare of a game.
As a professional philosopher and sociologist and farmer, I have pondered long and hard about this.
Some of us began recylcling when we became aware that it was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, it seems that a good percentage of our population won't even consider recycling--or even basic conservation of resource use--until it is personally cost effective for them to do so.
They see that as economic rationality. I see it as self-centered greed--one of the most cardinal of sins. (Yes, I see this as a moral issue, primarily because I believe we have a moral obligation to future generations. Others clearly don't see even a moral obligation to their neighbor.)
Some of us began recylcling when we became aware that it was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, it seems that a good percentage of our population won't even consider recycling--or even basic conservation of resource use--until it is personally cost effective for them to do so.
They see that as economic rationality. I see it as self-centered greed--one of the most cardinal of sins. (Yes, I see this as a moral issue, primarily because I believe we have a moral obligation to future generations. Others clearly don't see even a moral obligation to their neighbor.)
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Well recycling has been in Sydney for ages. In our shire we just chuck all the recycling in one bin. The greenwaste goes in another bin and the garbage in another. They all have different coloured lids to tell you witch is which. No one has to recycle, but the general garbage bin is too small to put all the waste from an average house into. So you either recycle or run out of space.
BigJay
New member
I'm also an avid outdoorsman who recycles, rides horses, and drives a hybrid everywhere. Thanks for lumping me and my entire party into your little angry and ignorant little tirade.
I think more people will do the right thing with a little education and regular neighborhood recycling pickups. It's not hard to throw your cans and plastic bottles into the blue box and take it out with the trash every week. My entire neighborhood puts out recycling boxes every Tuesday.
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greenbean36191
Premium Member
Well, it was posted in the middle of the night in a forum with low traffic. The mods are real people too, with real lives, so they don't review every new post immediately. They can't even read every post. If you see something that violates the UA, which this does, use the "report this post to a moderator" button to make sure they see it.
In the meantime, keep politics out of it.
I edited a couple of posts in here to remove political references. Hopefully, that will keep people from responding in kind and this thread can remain open.
For the record, RC does not allow political or religion discussions. It simply leads to too many issues. Further violation of this policy may result in the suspension of your posting privileges here.
For the record, RC does not allow political or religion discussions. It simply leads to too many issues. Further violation of this policy may result in the suspension of your posting privileges here.
