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recycling

Started by etothex 12 replies 1.9k views
Original Post
etothex
etothex
In my area, once a week the trash collector people come and pick up recyclables (paper, aluminum, and glass), paid for courtesy of the CA recyclables deposit. Now, having grown up in california public schools in the '90s I've been heavily inundated with recycling propoganda - and I've always been told to "seperate" the recyclables into their different types so they can be recycled properly. But the thing is, when they come and take the recyclables away, they just dump'em all into the one big bin in the back of the truck. Needless to say, my suspicions are aroused. Do they really have good enough tech (or lots of minimum wage workers...) to seperate out the stuff at the plant?? Or are they just tossing the stuff in the incinerator with everything else?
lethalhamster
lethalhamster
I believe they have people that separate that stuff. I don't see how they could separate it with a machine.
............Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that he himself could not eat it?
ChemicalImbalance
ChemicalImbalance
Quote:
Original post by lethalhamster
I believe they have people that separate that stuff. I don't see how they could separate it with a machine.


This sounds like it would be just about the worst job in the world.
......I wonder if they're hiring.
--------
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njpaul
njpaul
The show "Dirty Jobs" tells me they separate it at the processing facility.
Densun
Densun
My neighborhood has switched to using only one bin for everything, because the three bins was pointless.

Penn & Teller: Bullshit has an episode on recycling. The conclusion they came to was that for the most part recycling is bullshit. I'm not saying they're right or wrong, but you hardly ever hear anti-recycling messages, so it's interesting to watch.
Luckless
Luckless
depends on where you are. Some places have great systems, others just like to pretend they do.

Sorting most trash can be done fairly easily by machine. Paper and sheet plastic is light enough to easily be blown off, glass is heavy and can be broken up to drop down. Aluminum can't be attracted by magnets, where as steel can. Throw a few workers along the line to make sure things get where they're going and sorting mixed recyclables isn't too hard of a job. Some places find it easier to hire people to sort after they are mixed simply because trusting people to sort things properly doesn't work well.

Now, if they are mixing compost and non recyclable stuff in with the stuff bound for 'recycling' chances are it is all being dumped.
Old Username: Talroth
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LessBread
LessBread
Quote:
Original post by etothex
Do they really have good enough tech (or lots of minimum wage workers...) to seperate out the stuff at the plant?? Or are they just tossing the stuff in the incinerator with everything else?


Call 'em up and see if they'll take you on a tour.

I would think that they would gather materials that they could make money from and dispose of the rest. These days it seems the focus is on seperating out biodegradables (like lawn clippings) in order to decrease the fillrate of landfills. What irks me is how much stuff there is that would seem to be recycleable but isn't. If I think an item should be recycleable, I put it in the recycle bin. [grin]
"I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes." - the Laughing Man
BerwynIrish
BerwynIrish
Quote:
Original post by mtw
My neighborhood has switched to using only one bin for everything, because the three bins was pointless.

Penn & Teller: Bullshit has an episode on recycling. The conclusion they came to was that for the most part recycling is bullshit. I'm not saying they're right or wrong, but you hardly ever hear anti-recycling messages, so it's interesting to watch.

It was the worst episode of the show that I've seen. That episode demonstrated to me that Penn and Teller value the propagation of the libertarian consensus stance on issues over rational thought.
Boder
Boder
Here we are moving to a new system that separates the different types of recyclables by machine at the plant. Before it had to be done by hand, but of course not everyone does it correctly. There is a divider in the can and some people mistakenly thought that the hole in the recycling truck on top didn't have a divider on the inside.
LessBread
LessBread
Quote:
Original post by BerwynIrish
Quote:
Original post by mtw
My neighborhood has switched to using only one bin for everything, because the three bins was pointless.

Penn & Teller: Bullshit has an episode on recycling. The conclusion they came to was that for the most part recycling is bullshit. I'm not saying they're right or wrong, but you hardly ever hear anti-recycling messages, so it's interesting to watch.

It was the worst episode of the show that I've seen. That episode demonstrated to me that Penn and Teller value the propagation of the libertarian consensus stance on issues over rational thought.


The episode on the Endangered Species Act was pretty horrible too.
"I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes." - the Laughing Man
Mithrandir
Mithrandir
How about this:


Who takes the batteries and aerosol cans out of garbage?

:)
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Mithrandir
Mithrandir
Quote:
Original post by mtw
My neighborhood has switched to using only one bin for everything, because the three bins was pointless.

Penn & Teller: Bullshit has an episode on recycling. The conclusion they came to was that for the most part recycling is bullshit. I'm not saying they're right or wrong, but you hardly ever hear anti-recycling messages, so it's interesting to watch.


Recycling some things is bullshit, as it takes far more energy (and pollution) to recycle them than it does to produce them as new.


However, for things like Aluminum, recycling is a godsend. Recycling aluminum is now the #1 source of aluminum in the USA, because it only takes 5% of the energy to recycle aluminum than it does to extract it from bauxite ore.


Recycling != bullshit.
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My signature is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My signature, without me, is useless. Without my signature, I am useless.
etothex
etothex
Quote:
Original post by Mithrandir
How about this:


Who takes the batteries and aerosol cans out of garbage?

:)


But it's so much fun when they go into the incinerator! :)
-Tony-
-Tony-
Where I live there's 7 different bins, so 3 bins doesn't sound so bad [grin]

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