Recycling Dillema

Danno

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1031/recycling.html

Why are we exporting this stuff? Why we cannot assist start up companies to recycle this stuff here and create jobs is beyond me!

10-10-20

There is no way that any Irish company, paying Irish wages, would ever be able to compete with the Eastern countries by price on this.

Don't forget that there are 4 or five waste streams in a normal green bin which all have to be processed differently... paper & cardboard, tetra-pack, plastics (LDPE, HDPE, PET, PVC...), glass, metals (tin, aluminum, steel...), & WEEE (electronic goods).

Even if the process was automated to an extent, the cost of business here is too high (Transport costs etc...)
These are the reasons why Irish Glass in Ringsend folded 4 years ago.

Run_to_da_hills

I suggest that all the cardboard and paper be compressed into "fire logs" and handed out to the elderly and those on the dole. Irish Cement and the ESB could also use this waste for firing up their boilers.

SeanW

My local waste management company has put in a €2 charge for dropping off recyclables in their "Civic Amenity Centre" (wtf do they call it that for?)
It said in the Longford Leader that the Chinese import market for the stuff has simply collapsed and they just can't get rid of it. They intend to build some warehouses for storage of recycling.
It's not too bad - I just went there yesterday with a months collection of recycling, so I can handle it.

Edit: When I was in college, one of the candidates for Student Union president ran with a promise of providing "paper briquettes" to students. The idea was that companies would pay the S.U. to take unused paper and cardboard off their hands, this money would be used to finance a paper briquette making-machine when would make the fuel.
He got elected, and we heard no more about it. Musta been training to be an FF politician :rolleyes:

fastrac

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

I suggest that all the cardboard and paper be compressed into "fire logs" and handed out to the elderly and those on the dole. Irish Cement and the ESB could also use this waste for firing up their boilers.

+1

Macha

You can buy a compressor at Cultivate in Dublin.

Alun

I've never been convinced of the green credentials of this paper log/briquette business myself. There are too many chemicals, some containing chlorine, in the various inks and other materials used in the procuction and printing of paper and other possible contaminants to make it a good idea to burn this stuff at the low temperatures present in a domestic fireplace. Just compressing the paper and turning it into 'logs' doesn't make it any different to just burning the stuff in your back garden in my book.

http://www.raceagainstwaste.ie/learn/backyard_burning/

Macha

Alun wrote: »

I've never been convinced of the green credentials of this paper log/briquette business myself. There are too many chemicals, some containing chlorine, in the various inks and other materials used in the procuction and printing of paper and other possible contaminants to make it a good idea to burn this stuff at the low temperatures present in a domestic fireplace. Just compressing the paper and turning it into 'logs' doesn't make it any different to just burning the stuff in your back garden in my book.

http://www.raceagainstwaste.ie/learn/backyard_burning/

Hmm...I would see a huge difference between burning paper/cardboard and burning something like plastic, glass (wtf?) and other chemicals.

No?

Alun

taconnol wrote: »

Hmm...I would see a huge difference between burning paper/cardboard and burning something like plastic, glass (wtf?) and other chemicals.

I'm not sure it necessarily is. If paper was only pure compressed wood pulp and nothing else then it'd be fine, but as you're doubtless aware, it isn't. Bleaches, inks, glossy coatings etc. are all chemicals too, not to mention possible contamination such as plastic windows on envelopes. As I understand it, a lot of printing inks contain varying amounts of chlorine compounds, and burning chlorine compounds at low temperatures such as those found in household fires generates dioxins.

blackbox

Alun wrote: »

Just compressing the paper and turning it into 'logs' doesn't make it any different to just burning the stuff in your back garden in my book.

Far from an ideal solution, but at least you will get some value from it (heat) and it will reduce the amount of non-renewable resources that you need to burn - so definitely better than burning it in the backyard!