Waste Management and Product Optimization

[Freegrass]

I've been watching some videos on pyrolysis, and that's actually an interesting technology to recycle plastics, wind turbine blades, tires, and other difficult to recycle waste products.
Here's video on blade recycling.

Can you change the name of this rarely used thread to "Waste Management and Recycling" Kassy? It's an important topic that needs some more debate here IMHO. What are we going to do with our waste? What's the best way to make it useful again?



Tire recycling with pyrolysis.

Presentation of Enviro's patented process through which End-of-Life tires are recycled and converted into valuable products such as high grade recovered carbon black, oil, steel and gas. Filmed in our demo plant in Åsensbruk, Sweden.

[Freegrass]

Best documentary on recycling I have ever seen. Amazing what they can do these days. So happy that we're doing this in Belgium too. Landfills should be made illegal.
Posted on October 20, 2022.
Duration 48 minutes
Definitely worth your time!

Gold-rush atmosphere in the recycling industry, waste as an economic engine. Every year, 40 million metric tons of waste end up in the trash cans of German households. Thanks to strict regulations and precise specifications for waste separation, this waste is turned into new raw materials.

According to official statistics, the German recycling industry has generated sales of around 11.4 billion euros in recent years. The documentary provides insights into a booming industry and shows how raw materials are extracted from affluent waste.

[kassy]

The old one was a bit of a mix of things that later got other threads.
So we can use this to focus on Waste Management and Recycling.
Off course the best thing is actually reducing the overall waste...

[Freegrass]

The old one was a bit of a mix of things that later got other threads.
So we can use this to focus on Waste Management and Recycling.
Off course the best thing is actually reducing the overall waste...

This is perfect, and I just added product optimization to the title after watching some of the videos on this amazing YouTube channel. Pretty amazing technologies they're explaining here. If you're into production and mechanical engineering, you're going to love these videos. Very interesting!

https://www.youtube.com/@Ressource-deutschlandDe/videos

But when I asked ChatGPT what Waste Management, Product Optimization, and Recycling was, it told me that recycling is a part of waste management. So I removed recycling from the title, and this was the new explanation when I asked; What is Waste Management and Product Optimization? And the answer is perfect.


Waste management and product optimization refer to the combined efforts of managing waste effectively while simultaneously improving product efficiency and sustainability.

Waste management involves the proper handling, treatment, and disposal of waste materials. It encompasses various practices such as waste collection, sorting, recycling, composting, and disposal in landfills or waste-to-energy facilities. The goal is to minimize the negative environmental and health impacts of waste generation and disposal.

Product optimization, on the other hand, focuses on enhancing the design, production, and performance of products to reduce waste generation and improve their overall sustainability. This includes analyzing and modifying product design, materials, manufacturing processes, and packaging to minimize resource consumption, energy use, and environmental impact throughout the product lifecycle. Product optimization may involve using more sustainable materials, reducing packaging waste, improving product durability, or implementing efficient manufacturing processes.

By combining waste management and product optimization, organizations aim to create a holistic approach that considers waste reduction and sustainability throughout the entire product lifecycle, from design and production to consumption and disposal. This integrated approach helps minimize waste generation, maximize resource efficiency, and reduce environmental impact.

[Freegrass]

This MUST SEE documentary is infuriating and an eye-opener on plastics. And I'm thinking while watching this; Why don't we put a price on plastics? Metals and paper have a price. You can bring in 1 kg of copper to the recycler, and you get money for it. If there would be a price on plastics, there would be loads of poor people in the world that could be collecting all the plastics to get money for it. Right now, most of the plastic pollution in our oceans comes from the poorest countries - because they don't recycle as much as we do here in the western world. So let poor people collect plastics all around the world to make a few bucks with it so that they can keep them out of our oceans and are able to buy some food with it. (I know how bad this sounds, but I've lived in the Philippines for more than 2 years. Reality is that eight people in the world own as much money as the 4 billion poorest people in the world).

And why do we have so many different kinds of plastics that aren't recyclable? Or are too expensive to recycle? Just make plastics that can be recycled easily. Make it a little more expensive, and give people money when they bring it in. Just like we did with paper in the seventies. I remember gathering paper in school when I was a kid. You received money for that, and so everybody started collecting paper for recycling so that they had a few extra bucks that they could use for events.

Today, paper recycling is as normal as eating an apple... Why can't we do that with plastics?

I know, I know... Let's get rid of all plastics because microplastics are in our food chain now. It's true... But it's not happening, is it? So let's do the Buddhist thing and find the middle way. Ban unrecyclable plastics, and give people money for 1 kg of recyclable plastics. I'm sure that'll get rid of loads of plastic in our oceans, and give us time to come up with better solutions...

Gonna finish watching this awesome documentary now. Maybe they have some solutions in it. I just had to write this down now while I was in the mood... I'll edit later... So don't approve it yet Kassy! Wait until I've finished watching this awesome documentary.

Just finished watching it...
I can't believe how evil the American oil industry is... 

You can post this now, Kassy. I'm just too furious right now to write anything more about this. The fossil fuel plastic industry is just about as evil and threatening to our natural world than climate change...

No more words... 😡😢

[Sigmetnow]

Here’s a new U.S startup, “Twin Birch,” whose mission is, “To create clothing for a healthier, more sustainable planet.”

The Problem
Over the last 30 years, with the onset of “Fast Fashion,” the concept of inexpensive, mass-produced, and disposable garments in the conventional clothing industry has contributed to the largest amount of waste in its history. The industry’s approach is dependent on toxic materials, such as petroleum-based synthetic fiber, which contributes 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions globally. In addition, the use of pesticides, dyes, and fabric finishers is fouling waterways with toxins (the fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater), dumping microfibers into the ocean, and clogging landfills. About 85% of textiles end up in landfills or are incinerated.
 
If the clothing industry continues this trend, its negative environmental impact will continue to grow and progressively harm our planet.

 
Our Solution
To support the innovation of a more sustainable clothing industry.
 
We use organic and biodegradable materials, durable fabrics, timeless styles, local manufacturing and compostable packaging. Our brand aims to reduce the environmental impact from the start to finish of each product’s life cycle.
  
Through educating our consumers on the historically destructive practices of “fast fashion” and providing a more sustainable production model, we hope to contribute to the growth of a more environmentally-conscious clothing industry.

Twin Birch is available in the US & Canada, with future expansion plans.

Made In The USA
 
Local Production
Our manufacturers and operations are located in the Northeast.
 
Smaller Footprint
Local production naturally reduces our carbon footprint.

https://www.twinbirch.com/

[Freegrass]

How Old EV Batteries are Perfect for Energy Storage.

[Freegrass]

Another great video from Just Have a Think, about some projects that use plastic waste as a building material.

[neal]

waste plastic to pavers

[Freegrass]

Antwerp to host large plant to recycle southern European plastics

https://www.belganewsagency.eu/antwerp-to-host-large-plant-to-recycle-southern-european-plastics

The Turkish-Belgian company Synpet Technologies and the Swiss Kolmar Group are investing 100 million euros to build a large recycling plant in the port of Antwerp. From 2025, it will import and process tonnes of plastic from southern Europe.

"Our first plant will be located in the port of Antwerp, in the heart of one of the largest chemical clusters in Europe," said Cem Ozsuer, CEO of Synpet Technologies, in a press release. "We are very proud to invest in the heart of Flanders, in one of Europe's most renowned and well-equipped ports."

The company had initially planned to set up in Genk. However, as Synpet will be importing a lot of southern European plastics, Antwerp, with all its facilities, was considered to be more suitable.



Existing technologies can only process certain wastes and require these wastes to be very clean, sorted or completely dried. Pre-treatment of waste is very costly and inefficient. TCP technology does not require any pre-treatment. Any kind of waste can be added to the feedstock unsorted and wet.

Besides, with current technologies, only certain wastes can be added to the feedstock and few useful outputs can be produced. With our patented TCP technology, all types of waste, including the toughest ones such as sewage sludge or hazardous waste, can be processed and high-quality, useful products can be produced.

https://synpet.com/waste-to-renewables/

[Freegrass]

With our patented TCP technology, all types of waste, including the toughest ones such as sewage sludge or hazardous waste, can be processed and high-quality, useful products can be produced.

Does anyone here understand how significant this technology is? More than 20 years ago, they were already talking about "anything into oil". Many companies have since been pursuing this dream, but none have ever succeeded into making this a commercially viable dream...

But now that dream is becoming a reality... Here in Antwerp...
WOW! WOW!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!
And they will use the gas they produce to keep their process going... Just feed waste...

It's a recycling dream, and nobody here said WOW!?
I don't get it...

I really want to find out more about the technology, but I can find anything about it... It's a well guarded Turkish mystery it seems...

Anything Into Oil
Technological savvy could turn 600 million tons of turkey guts and other waste into 4 billion barrels of light Texas crude each year.
By Brad Lemley and Tony Law
May 1, 2003
https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/anything-into-oil

Isn't it ironic, that an inventor from Turkey invented this? 🤔

[Sigmetnow]

On many Japanese toilets, the hand wash sink is attached so that you can wash your hands and reuse the water for the next flush. Japan saves millions of liters of water every year doing this.
⬇️ Image below from: pic.twitter.com/xYh0smEcSd