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Recycling: It’s more than bottles and cans
Many people routinely sort out recyclables before plunking garbage bags into the trash can.
But the world of recycling is finding new uses for household discards in ways originators of recycling programs couldn’t have envisioned during the World War II metal collections and 1970s.
Habitat ReStore deconstruction
Growing numbers of Habitat ReStores offer a deconstruction program in which buildings are hand-dismantled and materials reused.
“Eighty-five percent of a house is reusable,“ said BJ Perkins, ReStore program manager based in Austin, Texas.
Some stores do total take-downs on the structure and others cherry-pick to salvage the best parts.
“Each store, every time they sell donated materials, it keeps it out of the landfill,” he said.
Old wood flooring and windows are big sellers as well as cabinetry. For some Habitat stores, the deconstruction program is their only source of lumber.
For more information, go to re-store.com/ and click on deconstruction.
Papercrete
Papercrete is created out of repulped paper products and mixed with cement and sand or clay. The blocks can be waterproofed and used for structural purposes, even in building homes.
Usable paper sources include newsprint, junk mail, old magazines and books and materials collected from waste or recycle receptacles. The material provides high levels of insulation, stability and fire resistance. For more information, go to greenhomebuilding.com/papercrete.htm.
Converting used oil to biodiesel
Americans will produce more than 3 billion gallons of waste vegetable oil this year, according to greenworldbiofuels.com/index.htm. Most of the oil will be discarded.
However, that waste oil can be converted into biodiesel fuels, said Steve Fugate, owner of Green World Biofuels.
“We live in a society where we’re used to everything being throw-away,” he said. But “energy prices are only going to go up for us, so we’re very strong proponents of controlling how much we use.”
Fugate launched a local biodiesel production cooperative on his Iowa farm about four years ago. He hosts monthly workshops on biodiesel and urges people to support U.S. military troops by using less oil.
The company sells complete biodiesel production systems that convert used fryer oil into fuels capable of running vehicles and generators.
Discarded food scraps
Most people cope with food scraps by either reheating and eating or tossing them into the garbage pail.
The StopWaste program in Alameda County, Calif., offers another solution for paring down the amounts of food that clog landfills. Residents in 13 jurisdictions sort their fruit, vegetable, breads, proteins and table scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, napkins and paper towels into a green cart for weekly pickup, according to stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=528. Those leftovers are composted and used primarily for agriculture and landscaping, according to Robin Plutchok, program manager.
Mary Louise Speer is a correspondent for the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa, newsroom@qctimes.com.
Many people routinely sort out recyclables before plunking garbage bags into the trash can.
But the world of recycling is finding new uses for household discards in ways originators of recycling programs couldn’t have envisioned during the World War II metal collections and 1970s.
Habitat ReStore deconstruction
Growing numbers of Habitat ReStores offer a deconstruction program in which buildings are hand-dismantled and materials reused.
“Eighty-five percent of a house is reusable,“ said BJ Perkins, ReStore program manager based in Austin, Texas.
Some stores do total take-downs on the structure and others cherry-pick to salvage the best parts.
“Each store, every time they sell donated materials, it keeps it out of the landfill,” he said.
Old wood flooring and windows are big sellers as well as cabinetry. For some Habitat stores, the deconstruction program is their only source of lumber.
For more information, go to re-store.com/ and click on deconstruction.
Papercrete
Papercrete is created out of repulped paper products and mixed with cement and sand or clay. The blocks can be waterproofed and used for structural purposes, even in building homes.
Usable paper sources include newsprint, junk mail, old magazines and books and materials collected from waste or recycle receptacles. The material provides high levels of insulation, stability and fire resistance. For more information, go to greenhomebuilding.com/papercrete.htm.
Converting used oil to biodiesel
Americans will produce more than 3 billion gallons of waste vegetable oil this year, according to greenworldbiofuels.com/index.htm. Most of the oil will be discarded.
However, that waste oil can be converted into biodiesel fuels, said Steve Fugate, owner of Green World Biofuels.
“We live in a society where we’re used to everything being throw-away,” he said. But “energy prices are only going to go up for us, so we’re very strong proponents of controlling how much we use.”
Fugate launched a local biodiesel production cooperative on his Iowa farm about four years ago. He hosts monthly workshops on biodiesel and urges people to support U.S. military troops by using less oil.
The company sells complete biodiesel production systems that convert used fryer oil into fuels capable of running vehicles and generators.
Discarded food scraps
Most people cope with food scraps by either reheating and eating or tossing them into the garbage pail.
The StopWaste program in Alameda County, Calif., offers another solution for paring down the amounts of food that clog landfills. Residents in 13 jurisdictions sort their fruit, vegetable, breads, proteins and table scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, napkins and paper towels into a green cart for weekly pickup, according to stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=528. Those leftovers are composted and used primarily for agriculture and landscaping, according to Robin Plutchok, program manager.
Mary Louise Speer is a correspondent for the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa, newsroom@qctimes.com.
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