Speaking of recycling, tire-recycling initiatives can get a boost; as
the sidewalls of tires (easily available in tire parts) do not contain
steel belts, which may make sidewalls valued for ease of
recycling.(snip)

There is often a steel cable embedded underneath the bead of the
sidewall.
One of the recycling technologies used for tires these days is to burn
them for the heat they generate, in a furnace designed for making
limestone into cement powder. It is efficient, with the ash becoming
part of the cement.
Years ago, I remember seeing tire treads cut and shaped into soles of
sandals made in Mexico. There was also a company here in the US that
made used inner tubes into purses and wallets. I don't know if they're
still around.
Steel belts have certainly complicated the recycling of tires, for
which there used to be a good market.-Jitney

wrote:
Speaking of recycling, tire-recycling initiatives can get a boost; as
the sidewalls of tires (easily available in tire parts) do not
contain
steel belts, which may make sidewalls valued for ease of
recycling.(snip)

There is often a steel cable embedded underneath the bead of the
sidewall.

Have "tire-recycling" industries considered equipment that cuts the
sidewalls off of the tread, and the steel cables off sidewalls? This
would be less expensive than equipment that processes whole tires;
where steel belts and cables can periodically wear-out equipment;
resulting in costly repairs.

One of the recycling technologies used for tires these days is to
burn
them for the heat they generate, in a furnace designed for making
limestone into cement powder. It is efficient, with the ash becoming
part of the cement.
Years ago, I remember seeing tire treads cut and shaped into soles
of
sandals made in Mexico. There was also a company here in the US that
made used inner tubes into purses and wallets. I don't know if
they're
still around.
Steel belts have certainly complicated the recycling of tires, for
which there used to be a good market.-Jitney

wrote:
"Here in CA, most types of clean waste (styrofoam one of the
exceptions)
can be placed (and mixed-in) the recycling bins e.g., all the
different

types of paper, plastics, metals, etc. Nothing has been said about
rubber or tire-parts. "

The fact that nothing has been said about tire parts or rubber pretty
much tells you that they don't want them in the recyclables, doesn't
it? I'm sure no one is regularly chopping up tires and putting them
in
with the other standard recyclables. And if they did, what do you
think would happen to it when it gets to the recycling facility?
Most
likely, it would get chucked into the stuff headed for the land fill.

Inquired to the agency that oversees recycling; tire-pieces cannot be
treated as rubber-scrap (even though rubber scrap takes-up over
ninety-percent less space than a "bulky tire").

I also find it interesting that in your area of CA you can just mix
all
the recyclables together. It's very unusual to see paper mixed with
glass, cans etc. I would think this would make a big mess to try to
sort out. More typical is to have it seperated:

newpaper
mixed other paper
glass/cans/plastic

To clarify: The "usually observed rule" is to put different materials
into different bags (even placing office-grade paper in separate bags).


And event these typically have some restricitions. For example,
glass
means containers, not window glass, and as you pointed out, plastic
means household containers, not styrofoam, etc. Some also require
glass seperated from metals.

As for the "tire-parts" i.e., rubber scrap, will the local tire shop
ocassionally waive the used-tire fee and accept tire scraps?

"Scott en Aztlán" wrote:

On 28 Mar 2005 11:36:28 -0800, wrote:

I also find it interesting that in your area of CA you can just mix all
the recyclables together. It's very unusual to see paper mixed with
glass, cans etc. I would think this would make a big mess to try to
sort out. More typical is to have it seperated:

newpaper
mixed other paper
glass/cans/plastic

To clarify: The "usually observed rule" is to put different materials
into different bags (even placing office-grade paper in separate bags).

I've never observed that rule. In fact, I've never heard of it.

I've heard of it being done that way, but I certainly wouldn't be willing to
go to that much trouble -- probably what everybody else thought too. We (as a
city) pay extra to have stuff recycled. What that means is that we have fewer
than 5 gallons of trash to pay for every week, which is not bad.

I have always tossed all the recyclables into the barrel together.
Cans and bottles are usually thrown in loose, newspapers are often
(but not always) placed inside paper grocery bags, and shredded office
paper is contained in plastic garbage bags. Waste Management has never
complained.

Everything -- paper, plastic, metal, glass -- gets tossed loose into the
recycling bin, which is picked up by one of those huge automated trucks.
Every once in a while there's a picture in the paper of conveyor belts filled
with trash being sorted by white-garbed and -masked workers. I guess there
are worse jobs, but I wouldn't want one any more than the welfare louts do.

I wonder how they deal with all the broken glass, which it almost has to be by
the time the truck is nearly full.

--
Cheers,
Bev
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
"Why put fault tolerance in the OS, when it's already built
into the User?" -- Steve Shaw, regarding Win95

Scott en Aztl=E1n wrote:
On 28 Mar 2005 11:36:28 -0800, wrote:

I also find it interesting that in your area of CA you can just
mix all
the recyclables together. It's very unusual to see paper mixed
with
glass, cans etc. I would think this would make a big mess to try
to
sort out. More typical is to have it seperated:

newpaper
mixed other paper
glass/cans/plastic

To clarify: The "usually observed rule" is to put different
materials
into different bags (even placing office-grade paper in separate
bags).

I've never observed that rule. In fact, I've never heard of it.

I have always tossed all the recyclables into the barrel together.
Cans and bottles are usually thrown in loose, newspapers are often
(but not always) placed inside paper grocery bags, and shredded
office
paper is contained in plastic garbage bags. Waste Management has
never
complained.

In fact, although "Single Stream" recycling is mentioned on their web
site,

http://www.wastemanagement.com/WM/services/homes.asp

I was able to find no menton of this "usually observed rule."

The "usually observed rule" is "usually unwritten" e.g., an
understanding which some people observe, and some people do not
observe.

Maybe being located in a region; which possibly has had excellent
results in keeping as much waste as possibile from the landfills, is
why enough of us keep different recyclable wastes as separated as
possible.
--
When are you people going to wake up to the fact that rebates are a
SCAM?
Whatever!

writes:
In fact, here in NJ, the state recently instituted a tax on tires to help
pay for getting rid of them, because no one wants them.

A recent tv doco showed a new recycling scheme for discarded tyres that
is being licenced around the world. To start with the tyre is soaked in
oil for a length of time and this causes it to magically soften and the
wire reinforcing can be easily drawn out. Then it is shredded and
subjected to microwave heating. (I forget at which stage the steel fibres
in the belt are extracted.) The result of a one car ty a few spoonsful
of carbon powder, half a cupful of steel fibres each about the length of a
toothpick, and 2 litres of oil. All these are of value to industry, with a
nett return of $2 I think it was after costs are taken out. Apparently all
of the tyre is converted so this makes the used tyre 100% recyclable.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)