Hello audience,
I am just posting to say that I will be presenting my IRP project for my class tomorrow! And for it, I will have a powerpoint presentation documenting what I have researched, learned and accomplished. I will do my best to post said presentation on this blog.
Awesome!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Post #18-- Easing Off
Huh. My last post seemed to get a little too passionate toward the end. I don't want to be just another person preaching gloom and doom about global warming and trying to start a revolution (which I totally buy into, it's just not in my project, which is getting you to do other things).
We can all help-- and it's really easy too! If, say, everyone in America did these small things, think of how much we could accomplish! We can all recycle. We can work to get efficient recycling programs at our places of business, at our schools, at our hospitals, in our parks, etc. Everywhere. And we can compost! Whether outside or inside, with worms or without (though with is infinitely more fun, and faster). We can compost at home, at restaurants, at work, at school, you name it. And it's so easy, people.
Just think about it. It's easy, and we can all make a small change.
I hope to keep this compost bin going. I hope that when it's time to harvest my vermicompost, we'll start another one-- and keep it going. There's so much material we're saving! And we all can =)
We can all help-- and it's really easy too! If, say, everyone in America did these small things, think of how much we could accomplish! We can all recycle. We can work to get efficient recycling programs at our places of business, at our schools, at our hospitals, in our parks, etc. Everywhere. And we can compost! Whether outside or inside, with worms or without (though with is infinitely more fun, and faster). We can compost at home, at restaurants, at work, at school, you name it. And it's so easy, people.
Just think about it. It's easy, and we can all make a small change.
I hope to keep this compost bin going. I hope that when it's time to harvest my vermicompost, we'll start another one-- and keep it going. There's so much material we're saving! And we all can =)
Post #17-- Running Commentary
Overall Trash: 18.2oz. (1.2 lbs.)
Overall Recycling: 13.6oz.
Overall Compostable Recyclables: 1oz.
Overall Compostable Trash: 3.3oz.
Total Generated Waste: 36.1oz. (2.3 lbs)
Total Compostables: 4.3oz.
Okay, my family should produce about 4x4.3= 17.2oz, which is 1 pound, 1.2oz. Adding for salad-y stuff and given that we’re not going to compost tons of paper (that we’d recycle), only comp T would be 4x3.3= 13.2oz, about 3oz. short of a pound. Adding extra salad stuff, I’d say the middle ground is that my family produces about a pound of compostable material that would actually be composted.
Of our trash, my family should produce 4x18.2= 72.8oz which is about 4.55 pounds. So my family produces almost 5 pounds of trash a week. Just TRASH trash. Total generated waste would look more like this: 4x36.1= 9.025. So about 9 pounds. Peter was right, we do produce about 10 pounds of trash a week. Especially if you add up all the family combined stuff, like the finished cereal box or the fruit containers we recycle or the last of that chicken/pasta/whatever that we can’t really keep. I’ll say about ten pounds then.
So if we generate 10 pounds of waste and compost about a pound of it, we are actively saving 10% of our waste from being incinerated and then landfilled. Preventing it from adding tons of C02 to the atmosphere! It is returning to nature and will nourish a new round of the natural life cycle.
Then, if we recycle 4x13.6oz (I will keep this number because although it is heavy due to that glass bottle I had, and although glass bottles aren’t common, we go through a lot of paper)= 3.4pounds!
PLUS the recyclable compostables which make up 4x1=4oz... so in all, 4x14oz (13.6+.4)= 3.5 pounds!
So with recycling efforts we are saving 35% of our trash!
With recycling and composting we are saving 45% of all of our trash! Plus who knows how much the yard trimming weigh, but that’d add on a ton if we were to throw them away instead of composting them in the back yard. So overall, if you imagine that weight (if it were going to be trashed) we are saving over 50% of our generated waste!
Which still means that 50% of our generated waste is being landfilled, consistent with the national average. Dang. After all of this I was sure that I could save more than the national average. Huh. I am rather surprised. If only I had been able to eat that other half of my sandwich, that would have taken a ton of weight out. But I don’t want to just look good, I want to represent truthfully what is going on. I want to know what’s going on so that I can help make it better. Unfortunately, if my numbers are consistent with the national average, there is not much I can do at home. But wait a minute... That’s 50% of AMERICA’s trash. Not just 50% of MY FAMILY’s trash. What would happen if all of America composted and actively recycled? I’ll bet that a ton more would be saved! My project can’t be pointless, there is hope! If America saves about half of its generated waste through recycling and composting efforts, that includes all the business wastes and hospital wastes and school wastes, etc. What if all restaurants composted? What if all schools and businesses had efficient recycling projects? I’m betting we can change the world here, people.
And what if so many of the plastics we now have were biodegradable? What if we ALL embraced the “cradle to cradle” mentality when we make something? We as a human race have to start taking responsibility for the messes we make-- and we CAN. We just have to get off our lazy bums and do something about it. We have to stop letting people away from just thinking about money and get them to start thinking about a better world!! Think about it-- more healthy earth to go around. I’m not saying let mother nature reclaim the cities and have us abandon civilization, no-- just imagine the spaces we have now, healthier. And the spaces we have now staying spaces we have now, instead of becoming dumping grounds.
Overall Recycling: 13.6oz.
Overall Compostable Recyclables: 1oz.
Overall Compostable Trash: 3.3oz.
Total Generated Waste: 36.1oz. (2.3 lbs)
Total Compostables: 4.3oz.
Okay, my family should produce about 4x4.3= 17.2oz, which is 1 pound, 1.2oz. Adding for salad-y stuff and given that we’re not going to compost tons of paper (that we’d recycle), only comp T would be 4x3.3= 13.2oz, about 3oz. short of a pound. Adding extra salad stuff, I’d say the middle ground is that my family produces about a pound of compostable material that would actually be composted.
Of our trash, my family should produce 4x18.2= 72.8oz which is about 4.55 pounds. So my family produces almost 5 pounds of trash a week. Just TRASH trash. Total generated waste would look more like this: 4x36.1= 9.025. So about 9 pounds. Peter was right, we do produce about 10 pounds of trash a week. Especially if you add up all the family combined stuff, like the finished cereal box or the fruit containers we recycle or the last of that chicken/pasta/whatever that we can’t really keep. I’ll say about ten pounds then.
So if we generate 10 pounds of waste and compost about a pound of it, we are actively saving 10% of our waste from being incinerated and then landfilled. Preventing it from adding tons of C02 to the atmosphere! It is returning to nature and will nourish a new round of the natural life cycle.
Then, if we recycle 4x13.6oz (I will keep this number because although it is heavy due to that glass bottle I had, and although glass bottles aren’t common, we go through a lot of paper)= 3.4pounds!
PLUS the recyclable compostables which make up 4x1=4oz... so in all, 4x14oz (13.6+.4)= 3.5 pounds!
So with recycling efforts we are saving 35% of our trash!
With recycling and composting we are saving 45% of all of our trash! Plus who knows how much the yard trimming weigh, but that’d add on a ton if we were to throw them away instead of composting them in the back yard. So overall, if you imagine that weight (if it were going to be trashed) we are saving over 50% of our generated waste!
Which still means that 50% of our generated waste is being landfilled, consistent with the national average. Dang. After all of this I was sure that I could save more than the national average. Huh. I am rather surprised. If only I had been able to eat that other half of my sandwich, that would have taken a ton of weight out. But I don’t want to just look good, I want to represent truthfully what is going on. I want to know what’s going on so that I can help make it better. Unfortunately, if my numbers are consistent with the national average, there is not much I can do at home. But wait a minute... That’s 50% of AMERICA’s trash. Not just 50% of MY FAMILY’s trash. What would happen if all of America composted and actively recycled? I’ll bet that a ton more would be saved! My project can’t be pointless, there is hope! If America saves about half of its generated waste through recycling and composting efforts, that includes all the business wastes and hospital wastes and school wastes, etc. What if all restaurants composted? What if all schools and businesses had efficient recycling projects? I’m betting we can change the world here, people.
And what if so many of the plastics we now have were biodegradable? What if we ALL embraced the “cradle to cradle” mentality when we make something? We as a human race have to start taking responsibility for the messes we make-- and we CAN. We just have to get off our lazy bums and do something about it. We have to stop letting people away from just thinking about money and get them to start thinking about a better world!! Think about it-- more healthy earth to go around. I’m not saying let mother nature reclaim the cities and have us abandon civilization, no-- just imagine the spaces we have now, healthier. And the spaces we have now staying spaces we have now, instead of becoming dumping grounds.
Post #16-- Worm Follow Up
Hi!
The worm bin is doing great!
The first morning I opened the bin and I noticed two things: 1) The worms had indeed grown in size (as promised, they just needed time to rehydrate from their trip) and 2) Some were trying to escape!
I started panicking-- if they were trying to escape, it means something is wrong. I knew the bin wasn't too dry, so maybe it was too wet. Unfortunately, I had to go to school and promised to deal with it when I got home. I simply scooped up all the worms trying to escape and put them back in the middle.
When I arrived home, there were a few worms trying to escape, though not as many. This made me feel better. I scooped up as much bedding as I could and simply turned it over. I was airing it as much as possible, afraid that the bedding was too wet..
The next day we added some coffee grounds and some clementine rinds to the bin... every time I open the bin to either deposit material or check on the worms, there are always a few squiggling around on the sides... but it has been observed by many sources that I have gathered information from that worms like to hang out on the sides of the bin a lot... perhaps they just went up too far?? Hmm... Then I realized that this must be the case-- the bedding simply felt damp... I really didn't think it could be too wet. Then I realized that the worms "trying to escape" in the next few days were not nearly equal the number trying to escape the first day. Maybe they were just unused to their new home! Perhaps it really did need more ventilation like I then provided...
However you decide to say it, the worms seem to be getting along fine, now!
Another reason I know this is because the bin doesn't smell bad at all :) That is definitely a sign of a worm bin with problems... if the bin gives off offensive odors. This means that the bin is too wet or you are putting in the wrong types of food (i.e. dairy, meat, etc.) and the worms are unable to fully digest it properly (or some combination, etc.). However, the worm bin smells like... nothing! Okay, it smells faintly of coffee grounds, and you can just barely discern the citrusy smell of the rinds, but other than that it smells like nothing! And the smells I mentioned previously?? Yeah, you can only smell them if you stick your head in the bin. And when the bin is closed? Forget about it-- you can't smell a thing. Which was one of my mom's stipulations: it was not to smell or it would go. I am so happy and excited that we can compost now! And it's working out excellently.
So far we have added the following materials (plus some others, I'm sure):
-Broccoli, coffee grounds, clementine rinds, corn husks, tomato bits and more!!!
I'll be sure to take a picture and put it up soon!
The worm bin is doing great!
The first morning I opened the bin and I noticed two things: 1) The worms had indeed grown in size (as promised, they just needed time to rehydrate from their trip) and 2) Some were trying to escape!
I started panicking-- if they were trying to escape, it means something is wrong. I knew the bin wasn't too dry, so maybe it was too wet. Unfortunately, I had to go to school and promised to deal with it when I got home. I simply scooped up all the worms trying to escape and put them back in the middle.
When I arrived home, there were a few worms trying to escape, though not as many. This made me feel better. I scooped up as much bedding as I could and simply turned it over. I was airing it as much as possible, afraid that the bedding was too wet..
The next day we added some coffee grounds and some clementine rinds to the bin... every time I open the bin to either deposit material or check on the worms, there are always a few squiggling around on the sides... but it has been observed by many sources that I have gathered information from that worms like to hang out on the sides of the bin a lot... perhaps they just went up too far?? Hmm... Then I realized that this must be the case-- the bedding simply felt damp... I really didn't think it could be too wet. Then I realized that the worms "trying to escape" in the next few days were not nearly equal the number trying to escape the first day. Maybe they were just unused to their new home! Perhaps it really did need more ventilation like I then provided...
However you decide to say it, the worms seem to be getting along fine, now!
Another reason I know this is because the bin doesn't smell bad at all :) That is definitely a sign of a worm bin with problems... if the bin gives off offensive odors. This means that the bin is too wet or you are putting in the wrong types of food (i.e. dairy, meat, etc.) and the worms are unable to fully digest it properly (or some combination, etc.). However, the worm bin smells like... nothing! Okay, it smells faintly of coffee grounds, and you can just barely discern the citrusy smell of the rinds, but other than that it smells like nothing! And the smells I mentioned previously?? Yeah, you can only smell them if you stick your head in the bin. And when the bin is closed? Forget about it-- you can't smell a thing. Which was one of my mom's stipulations: it was not to smell or it would go. I am so happy and excited that we can compost now! And it's working out excellently.
So far we have added the following materials (plus some others, I'm sure):
-Broccoli, coffee grounds, clementine rinds, corn husks, tomato bits and more!!!
I'll be sure to take a picture and put it up soon!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Post #15 Putting Together the Bin: Pictures
Hiya! As promised, here are the shots of me assembling my vermiculture bin! It was really easy and rather enjoyable. Plus, the worms are fabulous... OOOOOOH. The worms will be up to speed within 24-48 hours, plump and dispersed within the bin. I can't wait to see how it works out!
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| The worms came priority mail! |
 |
| Spreading the love <3 |
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| Worm bedding! Damp newspaper, soil, kitchen scraps! |
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| Me, putting the worms in their new home :) |
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| All done! |
Post #14-- The Worms ARRIVED!
Okay... enough with the CAPS already =P
My worms were sitting on my doorstep when I arrived home today :) I was so excited! I opened the package of "1000 reds" and was greeted with some newspaper and a little cloth sack bearing the Uncle Jim's Worm Farm logo. It was rather light! I don't know why I was imagining them weighing so much more... I only ordered a pound. They were shipped to me in peat moss "to absorb all moisture". The worms were very small looking, which is normal, apparently, because they have gone roughly three days since the last had food and water. Worms in shippment can lose up to 75% of their body mass, according to "Jim". I promptly put my worms in a bowl and gave them 1/2 cup of water, as reccomended.
Then I set to work! I took my bin and drilled 1/4 inch holes in in, evenly spaced, about 15 of them on the bottom, fewer on the sides. This is for ventilation. I then filled the bin with my shredded newspaper pieces, and I dampened them as I went. Worms are very particular about their environment-- it can't be too dry or too wet, else they shall not be happy and might die =( I will find out soon whether I met the requirements or not-- if they try to escape something is wrong! It'd be an easy fix though. If dry, add more water. Worms like it moist (and absorb water through their skin!). If too damp, add more dry newspaper and take out some damp.
I then went outside and gathered some of our leaf hummus. It's been in an impromtu compost pile at the back of our yard for a few years-- my stepdad, Peter, always puts all the leaves back there. They have turned into a nice, thick and nutrient filled muck. I also gathered some nice, drier soil to add to my worm bin. This soil will provide the grit the worms require to digest their food (kitchen scraps!) and will add helpful and essential microbes and other good bacteria to the bin. Next I took the brocoli stems I had chopped up (scraps from tonight's dinner) and added them to the middle of this assortment now in my bin.
FINALLY I got to add the worms! I took my red wigglers (all named humphrey, godfrey and daniel... my mom wanted me to name them... but there are 1000 of them... I shall post the final list of all 1000 later... if I don't conveniently forget) and scooped them onto the top! I spread them out a little bit over the top, then covered them with a wet newspaper, per "Jim's" reccomendation. The worms shall be fully up to speed in their new home within 24-48 hours time. I am so excited!
I actually think the worms are pretty cute :)
Why "cute", I have been debating. My bf and I have been debating what "cute" really means. Usually it means you think it is visually pleasing, sometimes small (or small in it's kind, such as a baby) and you want to care for it in some way. Like a kitten. For me, a kitten would fit the definition of "cute". It would be small, furry, cuddly and I would just want to take it home and love it! However I find myself seeing my newfound vermicomposting pals as "cute". Why?!? I don't know exactly! But I think that their ability to squirm is somehow endearing. AND I do want to nurture them-- they will nurture our garden! They will be most helpful friends to have. I hope people get over their aversion to worms, they really are nice pals. They require little (though picky about environment) and give so much. In 2-3 months time it will be time to harvest the worm castings and all the compost-- and start a new worm bin! I can't wait. Plus, any excess fluid that drips into the catching tray will be another great source of nutrients for our plants, like my favorite! The magical chive plant.
More to come-- and PICTURES!
My worms were sitting on my doorstep when I arrived home today :) I was so excited! I opened the package of "1000 reds" and was greeted with some newspaper and a little cloth sack bearing the Uncle Jim's Worm Farm logo. It was rather light! I don't know why I was imagining them weighing so much more... I only ordered a pound. They were shipped to me in peat moss "to absorb all moisture". The worms were very small looking, which is normal, apparently, because they have gone roughly three days since the last had food and water. Worms in shippment can lose up to 75% of their body mass, according to "Jim". I promptly put my worms in a bowl and gave them 1/2 cup of water, as reccomended.
Then I set to work! I took my bin and drilled 1/4 inch holes in in, evenly spaced, about 15 of them on the bottom, fewer on the sides. This is for ventilation. I then filled the bin with my shredded newspaper pieces, and I dampened them as I went. Worms are very particular about their environment-- it can't be too dry or too wet, else they shall not be happy and might die =( I will find out soon whether I met the requirements or not-- if they try to escape something is wrong! It'd be an easy fix though. If dry, add more water. Worms like it moist (and absorb water through their skin!). If too damp, add more dry newspaper and take out some damp.
I then went outside and gathered some of our leaf hummus. It's been in an impromtu compost pile at the back of our yard for a few years-- my stepdad, Peter, always puts all the leaves back there. They have turned into a nice, thick and nutrient filled muck. I also gathered some nice, drier soil to add to my worm bin. This soil will provide the grit the worms require to digest their food (kitchen scraps!) and will add helpful and essential microbes and other good bacteria to the bin. Next I took the brocoli stems I had chopped up (scraps from tonight's dinner) and added them to the middle of this assortment now in my bin.
FINALLY I got to add the worms! I took my red wigglers (all named humphrey, godfrey and daniel... my mom wanted me to name them... but there are 1000 of them... I shall post the final list of all 1000 later... if I don't conveniently forget) and scooped them onto the top! I spread them out a little bit over the top, then covered them with a wet newspaper, per "Jim's" reccomendation. The worms shall be fully up to speed in their new home within 24-48 hours time. I am so excited!
I actually think the worms are pretty cute :)
Why "cute", I have been debating. My bf and I have been debating what "cute" really means. Usually it means you think it is visually pleasing, sometimes small (or small in it's kind, such as a baby) and you want to care for it in some way. Like a kitten. For me, a kitten would fit the definition of "cute". It would be small, furry, cuddly and I would just want to take it home and love it! However I find myself seeing my newfound vermicomposting pals as "cute". Why?!? I don't know exactly! But I think that their ability to squirm is somehow endearing. AND I do want to nurture them-- they will nurture our garden! They will be most helpful friends to have. I hope people get over their aversion to worms, they really are nice pals. They require little (though picky about environment) and give so much. In 2-3 months time it will be time to harvest the worm castings and all the compost-- and start a new worm bin! I can't wait. Plus, any excess fluid that drips into the catching tray will be another great source of nutrients for our plants, like my favorite! The magical chive plant.
More to come-- and PICTURES!
Post #13-- Get Psyched for the WORMS!
My worms are supposed to come either today or tomorrow!!! They would have come last week, but we ordered them a day late, a day after the shipping order cutoff date... hmph. So they come this week! I am so excited. We ordered a pound of worms from "Uncle Jim's Worm Farm" (http://www.unclejimswormfarm.com/ and on another note, let me tell you, their live customer service is extremely helpful!) in the name of 1000 Red Wigglers. One thousand... that sounds like a lot of worms. At first I was very confused as to how many I should order, I keep seeing different things... like "a pound of worms for every pound of compostable material the users generate in a week", and I also found "because worms can eat half their weight in a day, order twice the weight of worms as weight of compostable material the users generate in a day." Hmm... One uses weeks, the other uses days. I didn't know where to begin! Until I came across this: "if you are unsure of how many worms to order, order one pound to start. If you need more, don't worry- your population will quickly grow." So that's what I did! I ordered a pound. Hopefully I won't need FEWER worms... I don't know what I would do with the extra... put them out in the garden I suppose :)
Right, so when the worms arrive, I shall be getting to work and putting up all the pictures of my process of making my very own vermiculture composting bin! Until then, check out this cool video by Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcclGBtXGrs
That's what I'm going to do!!
Right, so when the worms arrive, I shall be getting to work and putting up all the pictures of my process of making my very own vermiculture composting bin! Until then, check out this cool video by Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcclGBtXGrs
That's what I'm going to do!!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Post #12-- Contemplating My Data
Hmm. I was rather surprised by my data in some ways, and in other ways I was not surprised at all.
According to Owen, the majority of mass in his Trash category came from tissues, as he was suffering a cold at the time (poor Owen!). This said, if he had not had this cold, he would have generated even less overall waste. This mass, however, was able to be composted anyways-- here lies the challenge. There is a lot of argument over whether you can compost used tissues or not-- because if you are suffering from allergies is different from the matter you discharge if suffering from a cold, which is in turn different from using a tissue to stem a nose bleed. Many different bodily fluids can be stemmed by tissues, and according to the majority of Google searches I conducted, "there is great debate over whether tissues are healthily compostable or not". Apparently this has to do with germs and such, as some well-informed individuals hypothesize that germs from a cold (which is a virus) or other such illnesses may in turn infect a compost/vermicompost. I was not aware of this at the time, so bear with me and we shall together excuse Owen. It was a mass test anyhow, he does not yet have an active compost.
My data is vastly different from Owen's! Owen wins the 1$ we bet. I have generated more net trash. Owen generated an overall 4.7oz. of sure-landfill matter over the course of a week. I generated 18.2oz. That's a huge difference! I produced just under a POUND more trash than Owen did... I knew that sandwich was going to come back to haunt me. I was unable to eat the second half of a sandwich when out to dinner with my dad at a local Bill's Pizza. This is my fault entirely, though American food serving sizes will be a project for another day...
Also, through conversation we have concluded that Owen and I have relatively different lifestyles. He eats very little processed and packaged food, while I am well known for buying milk at school to go with my morning cereal. Also, something I learned was that all of those milk containers are to be landfilled, as they can not be recycled. Along with the popular soymilk containers and juicebox containers, the paper-plastic combination proves deadly. Think of how much material could be kept out of landfills if that packaging was made more earth friendly and efficient? I'm not sure whether an all plastic (though recyclable) product would be better, or if a biodegradable plastic would work (or if the food matter it was transporting would in effect speed up the biodegrading process and render if useless as a packaging material). Either way, I am responsible for generating more trash, coming mostly from food packaging.
I had thought more of my food packaging would be compostable, but much of it either was coated with wax (rendering it un-compostable, unless otherwise noted) or was soiled with food matter that in turn rendered it un-compostable (matter such as oils, greases, etc.). I am also a platelet donor at the local Red Cross, and in my week of recording my generated waste, I was required to weigh the bandages used after my donation. Lots of waste I didn't even think of! And that's just the waste that I throw away, not even including all the tubing used for me at the Red Cross or anything that went down a toilet. Hmm... that then is just a fraction of the true waste that I generate, right? But still, so much more on the COUNTRY and INTERNATIONAL scale could be changed for the better!
According to Owen, the majority of mass in his Trash category came from tissues, as he was suffering a cold at the time (poor Owen!). This said, if he had not had this cold, he would have generated even less overall waste. This mass, however, was able to be composted anyways-- here lies the challenge. There is a lot of argument over whether you can compost used tissues or not-- because if you are suffering from allergies is different from the matter you discharge if suffering from a cold, which is in turn different from using a tissue to stem a nose bleed. Many different bodily fluids can be stemmed by tissues, and according to the majority of Google searches I conducted, "there is great debate over whether tissues are healthily compostable or not". Apparently this has to do with germs and such, as some well-informed individuals hypothesize that germs from a cold (which is a virus) or other such illnesses may in turn infect a compost/vermicompost. I was not aware of this at the time, so bear with me and we shall together excuse Owen. It was a mass test anyhow, he does not yet have an active compost.
My data is vastly different from Owen's! Owen wins the 1$ we bet. I have generated more net trash. Owen generated an overall 4.7oz. of sure-landfill matter over the course of a week. I generated 18.2oz. That's a huge difference! I produced just under a POUND more trash than Owen did... I knew that sandwich was going to come back to haunt me. I was unable to eat the second half of a sandwich when out to dinner with my dad at a local Bill's Pizza. This is my fault entirely, though American food serving sizes will be a project for another day...
Also, through conversation we have concluded that Owen and I have relatively different lifestyles. He eats very little processed and packaged food, while I am well known for buying milk at school to go with my morning cereal. Also, something I learned was that all of those milk containers are to be landfilled, as they can not be recycled. Along with the popular soymilk containers and juicebox containers, the paper-plastic combination proves deadly. Think of how much material could be kept out of landfills if that packaging was made more earth friendly and efficient? I'm not sure whether an all plastic (though recyclable) product would be better, or if a biodegradable plastic would work (or if the food matter it was transporting would in effect speed up the biodegrading process and render if useless as a packaging material). Either way, I am responsible for generating more trash, coming mostly from food packaging.
I had thought more of my food packaging would be compostable, but much of it either was coated with wax (rendering it un-compostable, unless otherwise noted) or was soiled with food matter that in turn rendered it un-compostable (matter such as oils, greases, etc.). I am also a platelet donor at the local Red Cross, and in my week of recording my generated waste, I was required to weigh the bandages used after my donation. Lots of waste I didn't even think of! And that's just the waste that I throw away, not even including all the tubing used for me at the Red Cross or anything that went down a toilet. Hmm... that then is just a fraction of the true waste that I generate, right? But still, so much more on the COUNTRY and INTERNATIONAL scale could be changed for the better!
Post #11-- My Own Data
Sonya's Data
Date Recyclables Trash Comp: R Comp: T
Thurs. and Fri., May 19/20 1oz. 0.5oz. 0.7oz. 0.1oz.
Saturday, May 21 .5oz.
Sunday, May 22 10.3oz. 7.5oz. 0.1oz. 2.5oz.
Monday, May 23 1.3oz. 1.6oz. 0.2oz. 0.2oz.
Tuesday, May 24 0.0oz. 0.7oz. 0.0oz. 0.4
Wednesday, May 25 1.0oz. 7.4oz. 0.0oz. 0.1oz.
Overall Trash: 18.2oz. (1.2 lbs.)
Overall Recycling: 13.6oz.
Overall Compostable Recyclables: 1oz.
Overall Compostable Trash: 3.3oz.
Total Generated Waste: 36.1oz. (2.3 lbs)
Total Compostables: 4.3oz.
Date Recyclables Trash Comp: R Comp: T
Thurs. and Fri., May 19/20 1oz. 0.5oz. 0.7oz. 0.1oz.
Saturday, May 21 .5oz.
Sunday, May 22 10.3oz. 7.5oz. 0.1oz. 2.5oz.
Monday, May 23 1.3oz. 1.6oz. 0.2oz. 0.2oz.
Tuesday, May 24 0.0oz. 0.7oz. 0.0oz. 0.4
Wednesday, May 25 1.0oz. 7.4oz. 0.0oz. 0.1oz.
Overall Trash: 18.2oz. (1.2 lbs.)
Overall Recycling: 13.6oz.
Overall Compostable Recyclables: 1oz.
Overall Compostable Trash: 3.3oz.
Total Generated Waste: 36.1oz. (2.3 lbs)
Total Compostables: 4.3oz.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Post #10-- More %s and Thoughts
MMMMMMKAY.
So together, food scraps and yard clippings add up to about 23% of America's annual waste. That's a bunch. According to the EPA (same website as below, reputable, etc.), 56.9% of the yard clippings are actually sorted out and composted! At least that was the number from 2000, and that was ten years ago, I wonder if that number has grown!
However, the number for food scraps is much lower, only about 2.6 percent of the 14.1% is sorted out and composted. But then again, are you surprised? I was surprised that any of it was. It must be really hard to sort out food scraps, especially when they are put in the regular garbage that mixes with all the other landfill-able stuff. It'd be really difficult to get the last remaining egg shells off that broken computer monitor... and if it were your job, would you consider it worth it? Probably not.
That's why I believe that composting at home is a really great solution, it just hasn't been popularly discovered yet. I'm not quite sure why. It's easy, kind of fun, and you get great fertilizer! Did you know that the same type of compost you can make can sell for up to $100 per ton? Once I thought about it, $100 doesn't sound like a whole bunch for 2,000 pounds... but then again, it's kind of like dirt. Dirt that's worth a lot. Dirt that is bagged and sold at retail level, that you might buy overpriced, that you could actually make yourself WHILE SAVING THE WORLD!
Seriously. With that logic, who wouldn't be down for composting? You don't even have to do it with worms if you don't want to, that just makes it go faster. Worms also make composting more accessible inside (like an apartment or dorm room) due to their temperature needs. If done correctly, your compost shouldn't give off any odors at all and will leave you with nice, rich compost. Perhaps people are afraid or disgusted with their own trash, and that I can understand. But really people-- admit that you produce it. We are all part of the problem and we can all do something to help!
So together, food scraps and yard clippings add up to about 23% of America's annual waste. That's a bunch. According to the EPA (same website as below, reputable, etc.), 56.9% of the yard clippings are actually sorted out and composted! At least that was the number from 2000, and that was ten years ago, I wonder if that number has grown!
However, the number for food scraps is much lower, only about 2.6 percent of the 14.1% is sorted out and composted. But then again, are you surprised? I was surprised that any of it was. It must be really hard to sort out food scraps, especially when they are put in the regular garbage that mixes with all the other landfill-able stuff. It'd be really difficult to get the last remaining egg shells off that broken computer monitor... and if it were your job, would you consider it worth it? Probably not.
That's why I believe that composting at home is a really great solution, it just hasn't been popularly discovered yet. I'm not quite sure why. It's easy, kind of fun, and you get great fertilizer! Did you know that the same type of compost you can make can sell for up to $100 per ton? Once I thought about it, $100 doesn't sound like a whole bunch for 2,000 pounds... but then again, it's kind of like dirt. Dirt that's worth a lot. Dirt that is bagged and sold at retail level, that you might buy overpriced, that you could actually make yourself WHILE SAVING THE WORLD!
Seriously. With that logic, who wouldn't be down for composting? You don't even have to do it with worms if you don't want to, that just makes it go faster. Worms also make composting more accessible inside (like an apartment or dorm room) due to their temperature needs. If done correctly, your compost shouldn't give off any odors at all and will leave you with nice, rich compost. Perhaps people are afraid or disgusted with their own trash, and that I can understand. But really people-- admit that you produce it. We are all part of the problem and we can all do something to help!
Post #9- EPA MSW Data
Hmm... okay, so I was hunting around for more relevant information and on the EPA website I got great numbers that I want to share. I don't think I could get the actual graph, but I can copy it and provide a link.
According to the EPA at this web address- http://www.epa.gov/waste/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm
America produces almost 250 million TONS of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) per year. In 2009, the most recent data published, America produced 243 million tons of MSW. This amounts to 4.3 pounds of waste per person, per day. Wow. I haven't finished my week yet, but even with my limited data and Owen's data I know that that sounds bogus. I haven't even produced 1 pound of trash in a day, let alone 4! I would understand more if this number included every waste we produce, including biological, and different wastes I don't think about, like food wastes at a restaurant that go unused from the meal I order... but number "consists of everyday items we use and then throw away, such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps, newspapers, appliances, paint, and batteries. This comes from our homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses", not whole hog. Just stuff we throw away.
Now that number then may automatically factor in all of the stuff I don't think about, restaurant waste and business and school waste, hospital waste (although this number does not include hazardous waste). Perhaps it merely takes all the MSW of America and then divides it by the number of people here that generate it. Even so, I am astounded. That's a lot of trash! And about 50% of it gets landfilled. 50%! That's a lot... how much of it has to be there? How much could be made differently, so that it is recyclable, or better yet, biodegradable?
The figures stack up thusly: BEFORE RECYCLING, percentages of the 2009 MSW 243 million tons--
Paper and paperboard: 28.2%
Plastics: 12.3%
Metals: 8.6%
Rubber, leather and textiles: 8.3%
Wood: 6.5%
Glass: 4.8%
Other: 3.5%
And now more importantly:
Food scraps: 14.1%
Yard trimmings: 13.7%
How many of that doesn't need to be in a landfill?? I understand that a lot of that food matter can't be composted due to other contaminants such as grease, meat, dairy products, etc. but what about yard clippings? Yes this is before recycling, and thus also before any composting, but how much of it is actually pulled out and then composted? Sounds like quite a job to me. It'd have to be really organized.
According to the EPA at this web address- http://www.epa.gov/waste/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm
America produces almost 250 million TONS of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) per year. In 2009, the most recent data published, America produced 243 million tons of MSW. This amounts to 4.3 pounds of waste per person, per day. Wow. I haven't finished my week yet, but even with my limited data and Owen's data I know that that sounds bogus. I haven't even produced 1 pound of trash in a day, let alone 4! I would understand more if this number included every waste we produce, including biological, and different wastes I don't think about, like food wastes at a restaurant that go unused from the meal I order... but number "consists of everyday items we use and then throw away, such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps, newspapers, appliances, paint, and batteries. This comes from our homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses", not whole hog. Just stuff we throw away.
Now that number then may automatically factor in all of the stuff I don't think about, restaurant waste and business and school waste, hospital waste (although this number does not include hazardous waste). Perhaps it merely takes all the MSW of America and then divides it by the number of people here that generate it. Even so, I am astounded. That's a lot of trash! And about 50% of it gets landfilled. 50%! That's a lot... how much of it has to be there? How much could be made differently, so that it is recyclable, or better yet, biodegradable?
The figures stack up thusly: BEFORE RECYCLING, percentages of the 2009 MSW 243 million tons--
Paper and paperboard: 28.2%
Plastics: 12.3%
Metals: 8.6%
Rubber, leather and textiles: 8.3%
Wood: 6.5%
Glass: 4.8%
Other: 3.5%
And now more importantly:
Food scraps: 14.1%
Yard trimmings: 13.7%
How many of that doesn't need to be in a landfill?? I understand that a lot of that food matter can't be composted due to other contaminants such as grease, meat, dairy products, etc. but what about yard clippings? Yes this is before recycling, and thus also before any composting, but how much of it is actually pulled out and then composted? Sounds like quite a job to me. It'd have to be really organized.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Post #8-- Owen's Data
Owen collected and weighed all the waste he generated over the course of a week: I present his findings thusly.
DATE RECYCLABLE TRASH COMPOSTABLE R COMPOSTABLE T
Sun 4/10 1.1 Oz 0 oz 1.7 oz 0 oz
Mon 4/11 1.8 oz 0 oz 1.0 oz 0.8 oz
Tue 4/12 2.5 oz 0.9 oz 0.7 oz 1.2 oz
Wed 4/13 0.6 oz 0 oz 1.1 oz 0.4 oz
Thu 4/14 1.3 oz 1.7 oz 0.9 oz 0.1 oz
Fri 4/15 1.1 oz 0.2 oz 3.8 oz 0 oz
Sat 4/16 1.4 oz 1.9 oz 1.0 oz 0 oz
TOTAL RECYCLABLES: 9.8 oz. AVERAGE PER DAY: 1.4 oz
TOTAL TRASH: 4.7 oz AVERAGE PER DAY: .67 oz
TOTAL COMP. R. 10.2 oz AVERAGE PER DAY: 1.45 oz
TOTAL COMP. T. 2.5 oz AVERAGE PER DAY: .36 oz
TOTAL WASTE: 1 lb. 11.2 oz AVERAGE PER DAY: 3.89 oz
TOTAL TRASH ON WEEKENDS: 1.9 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKEND DAY: .95 oz
TOTAL RECYCLABLES ON WEEKENDS: 2.5 oz
AVERAGE PER WEEKEND DAY 1.25 oz
TOTAL COMPOSTABLES ON WEEKENDS (all Comp-R) 2.7 oz
AVERAGE PER WEEKEND DAY 1.35 oz
TOTAL WASTE ON WEEKENDS 7.1 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKEND DAY 3.55 oz
TRASH ON WEEKDAYS 2.8 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY .56 oz
RECYCLABLES ON WEEKDAYS 7.3 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY 1.46 oz
COMP. R. ON WEEKDAYS 7.5 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY 1.5 oz
COMP T. ON WEEKDAYS 2.5 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY .5 oz
TOTAL COMPOSTABLE ON WEEKDAYS 10 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY 2 oz
TOTAL WASTE ON WEEKDAYS 1 lb. 4.1 oz
AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY 4.02 oz
DATE RECYCLABLE TRASH COMPOSTABLE R COMPOSTABLE T
Sun 4/10 1.1 Oz 0 oz 1.7 oz 0 oz
Mon 4/11 1.8 oz 0 oz 1.0 oz 0.8 oz
Tue 4/12 2.5 oz 0.9 oz 0.7 oz 1.2 oz
Wed 4/13 0.6 oz 0 oz 1.1 oz 0.4 oz
Thu 4/14 1.3 oz 1.7 oz 0.9 oz 0.1 oz
Fri 4/15 1.1 oz 0.2 oz 3.8 oz 0 oz
Sat 4/16 1.4 oz 1.9 oz 1.0 oz 0 oz
TOTAL RECYCLABLES: 9.8 oz. AVERAGE PER DAY: 1.4 oz
TOTAL TRASH: 4.7 oz AVERAGE PER DAY: .67 oz
TOTAL COMP. R. 10.2 oz AVERAGE PER DAY: 1.45 oz
TOTAL COMP. T. 2.5 oz AVERAGE PER DAY: .36 oz
TOTAL WASTE: 1 lb. 11.2 oz AVERAGE PER DAY: 3.89 oz
TOTAL TRASH ON WEEKENDS: 1.9 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKEND DAY: .95 oz
TOTAL RECYCLABLES ON WEEKENDS: 2.5 oz
AVERAGE PER WEEKEND DAY 1.25 oz
TOTAL COMPOSTABLES ON WEEKENDS (all Comp-R) 2.7 oz
AVERAGE PER WEEKEND DAY 1.35 oz
TOTAL WASTE ON WEEKENDS 7.1 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKEND DAY 3.55 oz
TRASH ON WEEKDAYS 2.8 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY .56 oz
RECYCLABLES ON WEEKDAYS 7.3 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY 1.46 oz
COMP. R. ON WEEKDAYS 7.5 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY 1.5 oz
COMP T. ON WEEKDAYS 2.5 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY .5 oz
TOTAL COMPOSTABLE ON WEEKDAYS 10 oz AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY 2 oz
TOTAL WASTE ON WEEKDAYS 1 lb. 4.1 oz
AVERAGE PER WEEKDAY 4.02 oz
Post #7 Almost There and Still Here
Hiya, everybody!
While it looks like I was taking a very long break, I have been busy. My AP Biology teacher also advised me to change the immediate tone of my project, making it more about what I can do rather than attempt to change the world immediately. I feel better, I can calm down :)
So, what I've done it had my friend Owen collect his trash for a week, and I am currently undergoing the same process. Owen cleverly made a system for himself, dividing the waste he generated into four categories: Recyclables; Trash; Recyclable-Compost; Trash-Compost.
The recyclables, of course, will follow the pattern I already explained, they would be picked up, shipped by Waste Management to the plant in Avon where they are baled and sorted and shipped out again to truly recycled: incorporated into something new.
The Trash is what we can't recycle OR compost. These are the items that will end up in a landfill no matter what. Diapers, for instance. Or styrofoam, if your region doesn't recycle it. (Newton does, but you have to make sure it is free of all food matter and then make a trip to the Rumford Ave. facility yourself, definitely a turn off for many residents, unfortunately.)
Compostables go into two categories: recyclables and trash. I shall explain.
Compost-R: It is common knowledge that paper is recyclable. Tons and tons of paper is used and recycled every day! But a lot of the paper that is recycled is also compostable... not the paper with the chemical inks, not the ones with chemical dyes or food grease and such, but lots of regular paper such as newspaper (a choice bedding for worms!). Think about it-- if you wet it a little bit, it comes apart rather easily. It decomposes. Worms really enjoy an environment with damp paper shreds and will eventually incorporate them back into the ecosystem. Therefore, since paper is compostable, yet recyclable, it goes under the Compost-R grouping.
Compost T: What do you do with the salad clippings that go uneaten? Toss them. The grapefruit rind? Toss it. The yard clippings? Toss them (or in my family's case, put them back behind the trees where we now have a pile of leaf-hummus that is coming along quite nicely). These materials, most notably food scraps, go into our trash bins and are taken away to be either landfilled or incinerated (like Newton's trash). Now comes the main point of my whole project-- how much of that material could have been composted?!? How much compostable food matter does my family toss out? How much of it is landfilled or incinerated? Because that doesn't need to be there, it could be an excellent source of food for my upcoming vermicompost.
I am currently working on formatting Owen's data for publishing and it will be up soon.
While it looks like I was taking a very long break, I have been busy. My AP Biology teacher also advised me to change the immediate tone of my project, making it more about what I can do rather than attempt to change the world immediately. I feel better, I can calm down :)
So, what I've done it had my friend Owen collect his trash for a week, and I am currently undergoing the same process. Owen cleverly made a system for himself, dividing the waste he generated into four categories: Recyclables; Trash; Recyclable-Compost; Trash-Compost.
The recyclables, of course, will follow the pattern I already explained, they would be picked up, shipped by Waste Management to the plant in Avon where they are baled and sorted and shipped out again to truly recycled: incorporated into something new.
The Trash is what we can't recycle OR compost. These are the items that will end up in a landfill no matter what. Diapers, for instance. Or styrofoam, if your region doesn't recycle it. (Newton does, but you have to make sure it is free of all food matter and then make a trip to the Rumford Ave. facility yourself, definitely a turn off for many residents, unfortunately.)
Compostables go into two categories: recyclables and trash. I shall explain.
Compost-R: It is common knowledge that paper is recyclable. Tons and tons of paper is used and recycled every day! But a lot of the paper that is recycled is also compostable... not the paper with the chemical inks, not the ones with chemical dyes or food grease and such, but lots of regular paper such as newspaper (a choice bedding for worms!). Think about it-- if you wet it a little bit, it comes apart rather easily. It decomposes. Worms really enjoy an environment with damp paper shreds and will eventually incorporate them back into the ecosystem. Therefore, since paper is compostable, yet recyclable, it goes under the Compost-R grouping.
Compost T: What do you do with the salad clippings that go uneaten? Toss them. The grapefruit rind? Toss it. The yard clippings? Toss them (or in my family's case, put them back behind the trees where we now have a pile of leaf-hummus that is coming along quite nicely). These materials, most notably food scraps, go into our trash bins and are taken away to be either landfilled or incinerated (like Newton's trash). Now comes the main point of my whole project-- how much of that material could have been composted?!? How much compostable food matter does my family toss out? How much of it is landfilled or incinerated? Because that doesn't need to be there, it could be an excellent source of food for my upcoming vermicompost.
I am currently working on formatting Owen's data for publishing and it will be up soon.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Post #6--Demographics of Newton, first look
The most recent results for Newton's demographics are the 2000 census. The good news is that they were available March, 2001, so maybe the preliminary results for the 2010 census will be made available in March as well. So much has changed, especially with the recession. Also, huge changes in technology! I wonder how much the population has changed.. and how much Newton's waste management has changed. Just got to hold on 'til March, huh? Let's hope.
Okay, here are some of the most relevant questions and answers for 2000:
Q. What is the population of Newton?
A. It was 83, 829.
Q. How densely populated is Newton?
A. It was 4, 643.6 persons per square mile area and 1 778.8 housing units per square mile area. (The states of MA had a density of 809.8 persons/square mile and 334.4 housing units/square mile.
Q. How many housing units are found in Newton?
A. There were a total of 32,112 housing units in Newton in 2000, with 97.1% of them occupied.
Q. What's the trash and recycling deal?? CURRENT
A. The City of Newton provides solid waste (trash and recycling) services to 26,500 households and there are currently 32,816 total households in the City.
Okay, here are some of the most relevant questions and answers for 2000:
Q. What is the population of Newton?
A. It was 83, 829.
Q. How densely populated is Newton?
A. It was 4, 643.6 persons per square mile area and 1 778.8 housing units per square mile area. (The states of MA had a density of 809.8 persons/square mile and 334.4 housing units/square mile.
Q. How many housing units are found in Newton?
A. There were a total of 32,112 housing units in Newton in 2000, with 97.1% of them occupied.
Q. What's the trash and recycling deal?? CURRENT
A. The City of Newton provides solid waste (trash and recycling) services to 26,500 households and there are currently 32,816 total households in the City.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Post #5--Where it Goes: Trash
And now, about the TRASH.
Newton's trash is transported to the Millbury Wheelabrator waste-to-energy plant. The trash is mass burned and the resulting ash is landfilled in Shrewsbury. The conversion comes out to be 1 ton of ash for every 10 tons of trash burned. Any metals found in the trash stream are pulled out and recycled at the plant. With Newton's curbside recycling program, and appliance recycling it's not a problem. There is also a scrap metal container located at the Recycling Depot at Rumford Ave. Most metal is separated out before it ever reaches Wheelabrator.
So, our trash is collected and mass burned, THEN landfilled. In conventional landfills, food waste breaks down anaerobically and the resulting compost just... sits there. Because it breaks down without oxygen, methane gas is produced-- which contributes to global warming! Contrary to what was previously hypothesized, more organic matter in landfills does not help the real trash to break down. So that diaper? Yeah, the one that your parents used? Or maybe your grandparents? They are all still there, somewhere. And that's just diapers. Think about all the food containers we use, all the styrofoam we don't recycle. All the greasy paper we throw out. All of that is just... sitting somewhere in a landfill, in some way, shape or form.
And now the real question: how much of that doesn't need to be there? How much of it could have been recycled? How much of it could have been composted? According to wastage.com (part of Strategic Materials, the company that bought CRA), food waste is the largest component of discarded waste by weight. Yes, I know, lots of that can't be composted, like dairy and meat scraps, but how much of it could be? All the grapefruit rinds and apple peels and leafy greens and mushrooms we don't get to? And all of that other good stuff that the worms love... Have some love for your worms-- compost it! More on that coming up, when I really get the experiment part of my project started :)
Newton's trash is transported to the Millbury Wheelabrator waste-to-energy plant. The trash is mass burned and the resulting ash is landfilled in Shrewsbury. The conversion comes out to be 1 ton of ash for every 10 tons of trash burned. Any metals found in the trash stream are pulled out and recycled at the plant. With Newton's curbside recycling program, and appliance recycling it's not a problem. There is also a scrap metal container located at the Recycling Depot at Rumford Ave. Most metal is separated out before it ever reaches Wheelabrator.
So, our trash is collected and mass burned, THEN landfilled. In conventional landfills, food waste breaks down anaerobically and the resulting compost just... sits there. Because it breaks down without oxygen, methane gas is produced-- which contributes to global warming! Contrary to what was previously hypothesized, more organic matter in landfills does not help the real trash to break down. So that diaper? Yeah, the one that your parents used? Or maybe your grandparents? They are all still there, somewhere. And that's just diapers. Think about all the food containers we use, all the styrofoam we don't recycle. All the greasy paper we throw out. All of that is just... sitting somewhere in a landfill, in some way, shape or form.
And now the real question: how much of that doesn't need to be there? How much of it could have been recycled? How much of it could have been composted? According to wastage.com (part of Strategic Materials, the company that bought CRA), food waste is the largest component of discarded waste by weight. Yes, I know, lots of that can't be composted, like dairy and meat scraps, but how much of it could be? All the grapefruit rinds and apple peels and leafy greens and mushrooms we don't get to? And all of that other good stuff that the worms love... Have some love for your worms-- compost it! More on that coming up, when I really get the experiment part of my project started :)
Post #4--Where it Goes: Recycling
Okay, so my post was deleted by accident... GRR. Well, I'll just have to write it again.
OKAY! Once at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Avon, they are sorted by type (papers, plastic, cardboards, glass, etc., etc.) and separated and baled. They are then shipped off to end markets as raw materials to be used again. For example, pick up a glass bottle? There's a chance it may have as much as 70% recycled glass in there. WOW!
PAPER: Paper goes off to lots of places. There's a local paper mill in MA that's part of an organization called the Newark Group that takes over 5% of recovered recycled paper and turns it into new paper products.
CARDBOARD: Lots of cardboard is shipped to China, along with many PLASTICS.
GLASS: The recycling of glass is pretty neat. Glass gets recycled into new bottles and other things as far fetched as road materials. Ever heard of "glassphalt"? Now you have :)
OKAY! Once at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Avon, they are sorted by type (papers, plastic, cardboards, glass, etc., etc.) and separated and baled. They are then shipped off to end markets as raw materials to be used again. For example, pick up a glass bottle? There's a chance it may have as much as 70% recycled glass in there. WOW!
PAPER: Paper goes off to lots of places. There's a local paper mill in MA that's part of an organization called the Newark Group that takes over 5% of recovered recycled paper and turns it into new paper products.
CARDBOARD: Lots of cardboard is shipped to China, along with many PLASTICS.
GLASS: The recycling of glass is pretty neat. Glass gets recycled into new bottles and other things as far fetched as road materials. Ever heard of "glassphalt"? Now you have :)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Post #3-- More on Newton Recycling
So our recyclables do go to a processing plant in Avon, Ma, courtesy of Waste Management Recycle America. My mother's crew teammate Courtney Forrester is a recycling manager for the City of Newton's Department of Public Works, and she gave me some very helpful links. The most relevant one here, an incredible video featuring the recycling plant in Avon, Ma! Check it out-
http://www.necn.com/12/09/10/More-communities-turn-to-single-stream-r/landing_business.html?blockID=370137&feedID=4209
What I now need to really figure out is what actually happens to all the recyclables once they are sorted out of single stream. Are they sold back as raw materials to other companies that will then further process them? For example, glass: are they going to crush it up, or melt it down... and then where does that go? Or do they even go so far as to really process it there? The glass will go to so many new types of bottles and other things, so I'm not sure it makes sense for them to create new objects there. I just need to discover the process and the sequencing.
http://www.necn.com/12/09/10/More-communities-turn-to-single-stream-r/landing_business.html?blockID=370137&feedID=4209
What I now need to really figure out is what actually happens to all the recyclables once they are sorted out of single stream. Are they sold back as raw materials to other companies that will then further process them? For example, glass: are they going to crush it up, or melt it down... and then where does that go? Or do they even go so far as to really process it there? The glass will go to so many new types of bottles and other things, so I'm not sure it makes sense for them to create new objects there. I just need to discover the process and the sequencing.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Post #2--Recycling in Newton
So I've done some research... And for Newton, it takes two: green and blue! Green for recycling, blue for the garbage (so now that I've told you, you can't ever mistake them!)
Newton has single stream recycling, which as I already mentioned, means you can place all of your recyclables curbside together and they are then be transported by Waste Management to a recyclables processing plant located in Avon, MA (I wonder if I can go there...) Once at the Avon plant, the recyclables are "single streamed, sorted, baled and sent to different markets". http://www.newtonma.gov/DPW/recycling/residents/where_go.htm
What I need to do now is find out what happens at the Avon plant and where they go! And what happens to them?? The mention of the Avon plant is preceded with a link to http://www.recycleamerica.com/, so I'll have to check that out too, of course. This is certainly quite the research process.
What I'm also curious about it how effective and efficient recycling is as a whole. Yes, it must be great to reuse and recycle, but what about all the energy it takes? That has to come from somewhere too. I remember watching a video in middle school science class (Hey, Mrs. Carito!) that involved recycling (I wonder if I can get my hands on that, hehe). It showed that it took a lot more energy to make a glass bottle from recycled glass than it does to make a new one. I'm not sure if 1) I'm remembering correctly, and 2) how pollution would play into effect in this scenario... Again, to research.
And now for an interesting fact!
Q. What does the little "chasing arrows" symbol mean? It means "this item is recyclable", right?
A. Apparently not. The chasing arrows symbol, usually with a number inside it indicates the type of plastic the product is made of. The example on the City of Newton website described a plastic bag, made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE- #2), which is the same material that a milk jug would be made of. That doesn't mean they can be treated in the same way, though! The bag would contain all sorts of different dyes and plastic-modifiers and chemicals that would make it different from the milk jug (one obvious example, it's a film, not a jug...). Also, do you know what else is "same same, but different"? Styrofoam. To make styrofoam, air is added by the manufacturer creating a totally different product that is incompatible with the recycling processing equiptment.
Q. So what can I recycle if I don't know which "chasing arrows" symbols indicate recyclability?
A. The City of Newton asks that you place only stuff plastic containers with the numbers #1-#7 in the green recycle bins. http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/dpw/recycling/residents/faqs.htm
Q. What can I do with my plastic bags?
A. You can reuse them or bring them back to the store for recycling. Many stores do, like CVS.
--I'm not exactly sure HOW they recycle the plastic bags, but it's another thing for me to find out!
Newton has single stream recycling, which as I already mentioned, means you can place all of your recyclables curbside together and they are then be transported by Waste Management to a recyclables processing plant located in Avon, MA (I wonder if I can go there...) Once at the Avon plant, the recyclables are "single streamed, sorted, baled and sent to different markets". http://www.newtonma.gov/DPW/recycling/residents/where_go.htm
What I need to do now is find out what happens at the Avon plant and where they go! And what happens to them?? The mention of the Avon plant is preceded with a link to http://www.recycleamerica.com/, so I'll have to check that out too, of course. This is certainly quite the research process.
What I'm also curious about it how effective and efficient recycling is as a whole. Yes, it must be great to reuse and recycle, but what about all the energy it takes? That has to come from somewhere too. I remember watching a video in middle school science class (Hey, Mrs. Carito!) that involved recycling (I wonder if I can get my hands on that, hehe). It showed that it took a lot more energy to make a glass bottle from recycled glass than it does to make a new one. I'm not sure if 1) I'm remembering correctly, and 2) how pollution would play into effect in this scenario... Again, to research.
And now for an interesting fact!
Q. What does the little "chasing arrows" symbol mean? It means "this item is recyclable", right?
A. Apparently not. The chasing arrows symbol, usually with a number inside it indicates the type of plastic the product is made of. The example on the City of Newton website described a plastic bag, made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE- #2), which is the same material that a milk jug would be made of. That doesn't mean they can be treated in the same way, though! The bag would contain all sorts of different dyes and plastic-modifiers and chemicals that would make it different from the milk jug (one obvious example, it's a film, not a jug...). Also, do you know what else is "same same, but different"? Styrofoam. To make styrofoam, air is added by the manufacturer creating a totally different product that is incompatible with the recycling processing equiptment.
Q. So what can I recycle if I don't know which "chasing arrows" symbols indicate recyclability?
A. The City of Newton asks that you place only stuff plastic containers with the numbers #1-#7 in the green recycle bins. http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/dpw/recycling/residents/faqs.htm
Q. What can I do with my plastic bags?
A. You can reuse them or bring them back to the store for recycling. Many stores do, like CVS.
--I'm not exactly sure HOW they recycle the plastic bags, but it's another thing for me to find out!
First Post: Getting started
Okay, first blog post... Here I'll just outline a battle plan and notes as I have so far, it's still all up in the air.
Right. So at first I was really confused as to what I should do about my IRP. Originally I was completely lost because I switched into the APBio class two weeks late (which was hard!!). I switched in because I had taken the Biology I course over the summer (to get it out of the way, I didn't think I was a science person) and found I really loved it! But I had no idea what to do for an IRP. I landed on a simple research project, but recently it has sprouted into something huge that I really think can educate the general public and really make a difference! I will use my knowledge from my Biology I course, my APBio course, and my Greengineering smarts to reach my goal.
My mission?? To save the world.
Also, visit the Newton North Greengineering webiste at http://greengineers.wikispaces.com/
I need to research Newton's trash. How much is there? For one... Where does it go, how does it get there, what types go where... A huge thing is recycling. We are supposed to have a super-awesome recycling program, but our high school can't even get theirs off the ground... I'll have to look into that in more detail. I went to the City of Newton website, http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/dpw/recycling/default.asp, to research more about Newton's recycling proram. We have single stream recycling which means you can put all forms of recyclables (plastics, glass, paper) in the same bin and it will be separated at a facility. What I need to find out is where it goes (I think Avon, MA?) But the trash goes somewhere else. Also, what happens to scraps, yard waste and other compostable materials? Do they get composted?
How much could we save if we all recycled and composted? And what if (unlike our high school's recycling program) that system was effective and efficient? How much could we save?
Right. So at first I was really confused as to what I should do about my IRP. Originally I was completely lost because I switched into the APBio class two weeks late (which was hard!!). I switched in because I had taken the Biology I course over the summer (to get it out of the way, I didn't think I was a science person) and found I really loved it! But I had no idea what to do for an IRP. I landed on a simple research project, but recently it has sprouted into something huge that I really think can educate the general public and really make a difference! I will use my knowledge from my Biology I course, my APBio course, and my Greengineering smarts to reach my goal.
My mission?? To save the world.
Also, visit the Newton North Greengineering webiste at http://greengineers.wikispaces.com/
I need to research Newton's trash. How much is there? For one... Where does it go, how does it get there, what types go where... A huge thing is recycling. We are supposed to have a super-awesome recycling program, but our high school can't even get theirs off the ground... I'll have to look into that in more detail. I went to the City of Newton website, http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/dpw/recycling/default.asp, to research more about Newton's recycling proram. We have single stream recycling which means you can put all forms of recyclables (plastics, glass, paper) in the same bin and it will be separated at a facility. What I need to find out is where it goes (I think Avon, MA?) But the trash goes somewhere else. Also, what happens to scraps, yard waste and other compostable materials? Do they get composted?
How much could we save if we all recycled and composted? And what if (unlike our high school's recycling program) that system was effective and efficient? How much could we save?
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