Questions tagged [recycling]
using materials that would otherwise be waste to manufacture new materials. For questions specifically on [upcycling] use that tag, for questions on [reuse] use that tag.
220
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Does it matter whether I recycle packaging as one contiguous chunk or as separated parts?
I deliberately avoid cutting off or tearing off parts of packaging which I intend to recycle as in my mind I would imagine that this makes the recycling process easier. But does it actually? Is there ...
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What kind of lenses used for eyewear doesn’t melt in the oven?
Hello and sorry for my silly question! I want to create a pair of sunglasses made of Fimo (polymer clay). I know, maybe no one did something like this, but I'm ambitious when it comes to nonsense. To ...
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What are least harmful options for parts from disfunctional ceiling fan beyond my repair?
A ceiling fan of mine is running so slow it is no longer useful. From what I can tell this fan (here when I moved to my home) is either 9 or 14 years old. I dismantled it entirely, inspected and ...
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Spinning plastic fibers out of molten plastic?
Can a machine intended for making cotton candy use used to make 100% recycled plastic fibers?
Perhaps it is possible to put molten plastic bottles and/or beverage containers inside of a cotton candy ...
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At-home regeneration of (microbial) cellulose into spinnable fibers
I make kombucha, and an inevitable byproduct is pellicles of microbial cellulose. Is there a practical method by which I could reform or regenerate this into fibers than can be spun into thread or ...
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What Fraction of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is Actually Used Cooking Oil? (Is this fraction itself sustainable?)
The November 23, 2022 CNN article Etihad's 'Greenliner' shows a glimpse of a more sustainable future for aviation includes a photo with the caption:
On March 25 2022, an Airbus A380, the world's ...
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2
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67
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Guidance for amateur recyclers
I'm interested in finding ways to decrease the fraction of my household waste that goes to landfill. One strategy for achieving this objective - in part if not in whole - is to change my purchasing ...
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4
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192
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Is plastic recycling mostly green washing?
The general public has been told for years to carefully bin their plastic litter in the proper bin. Most people believe that doing this actually results in protecting the environment from plastic ...
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2
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99
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Should I donate old electronics or drop them off at e-waste recycling centers?
Lately I have been needing to get rid of some old (and/or broken) electronics and have been struggling with the question of whether I should try to donate the electronics to someone or just drop them ...
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How much of their waste do EU countries recycle?
The EU citizens separate their rubbish more or less. Yet there are accounts that
everything gets mixed and buried together after collecting
all of it gets exported to Asia
burning is not recycling
...
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2
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1
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70
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How can I start a recycle center for electronic goods
I am from India. It's been more than 15 years that I'm using electronics and throwing it out when its done. Since 3 years, after getting aware of how electronics affect the environment, I am trying to ...
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How is "recovered ocean bound plastic" any different from recycled plastic?
I've started to see this phrase on things like credit cards and plastic bags: "contains recovered ocean-bound plastic."
At first, it sounds like something really positive -- this was made ...
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How is the recycling of renewables not a huge pressing issue?
I don't seem to see a whole lot of discussions pertaining to the recycling of renewables which looks to be a huge issue.
Turbine blades are near impossible to recycle.
Solar panels are equally bad.
My ...
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0
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Recycling frozen food packages
I know that frozen food boxes are not supposed to be recycled because the packages have a plastic coating that interferes with recycling. However, lately I have been seeing frozen food boxes that are ...
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Why are soft plastics less desirable to recycle than hard plastics?
In the place where I live, hard plastics (e.g. bottles) are valued more and easier to recycle whereas soft plastics (e.g. wrappers), even of the same type (say, HDPE) are valued much less, and it's ...
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Why does color matter for PET recycling but not for HDPE recycling?
Why does color matter for PET recycling but not for HDPE recycling? I'm not sure about other countries, but in the place I live in the recycling plant that receives PET from recycling bins I use only ...
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1
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How do they recycle in Belgium?
I came across a passing mention of a peculiar way they recycle in Belgium (it's not paywalled as you may think, use Google Scholar). They say they sort out plastic containers, cans, and tetrapaks. But ...
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1
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How is recycling of plastics beneficial to the climate?
How is recycling of plastics beneficial to the climate? Using PET flakes, for example, reduces your indirect demand for oil extraction, it's good. But if you break them down to monomers during ...
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1
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Should we recycle paper products?
Should we recycle paper products given what this paper pointed out?
In "Limited climate benefits of global recycling of pulp and paper" (pdf) they write:
We [...] show that additional ...
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2
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1
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What is the impact of ongoing research of turning plastic into proteins?
I found this story regarding ongoing research of using bacteria to turn plastic into protein:
The team demonstrated that once the plastic is broken down by heat and a reactor, it can be fed to the ...
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1
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Is mercury still found in modern e-waste?
Is mercury still found in modern e-waste? I need an authoritative reference, please. I did try to research it on my own, but got conflicting information.
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Should I down cycle something myself instead of giving it away knowing it will end up in landfills?
I currently live in an Eastern European country where conscious consumption and recycling is uncommon. For context,
I am sometimes frown upon by the cashiers when coming to a grocery store with a ...
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1
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101
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Environmental impact of vegan food packaging
I'm a vegan, and a lot of times vegan frozen food (and maybe other food) packaging can be this thick plasticy non-recycable material.
Some example brand food images are the following:
Morning star ...
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0
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Detecting "old" paper in paper recycling
How can paper recyclers know how many times a given input paper has been recycled?
I've read that paper can be recycled "up to 6 times." I'm imagining a paper recycling plant that gets a ton ...
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1
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535
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How can I tell if glass is soda-lime or borosilicate?
I have a few glass candle jars that I'm thinking about cleaning and recycling. But I've read that candle jars might be made from different kinds of glass, and some glass should not be recycled.
Your ...
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2
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Environmental impact of using an extra bag to separate out plastic vs not separating
Recently I am facing a dilemma: I am living in The Netherlands and in this area it is encouraged to separate out plastic trash for recycling.
Usually my plastic trash consists of food packages and ...
6
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3
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358
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Is there no such thing as "pant" in the USA or outside some European countries?
I was under the impression that this was a global phenomenon since at least 50-70 years or so, but apparently not?
Basically, I went to the Swedish Wikipedia article for "Pant": https://sv....
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1
answer
907
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Understanding the relation between MTCE & MTCO2E
How do I convert MTCE/ton to MTCO2E/metric ton? Should I multiply it by 1.1 (ton to metric ton) and then by 3.67 (MTCE to MTCO2E)? For example, take a look at Exhibit ES5 here. Recycling aluminum cans,...
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What is the recommended way to dispose of a used water filter?
I have just replaced water filters for the water filtration system recently. There are a total 5 filters. 1 of them is ceramic, the other 4 are made of other materials which could probably be opened ...
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Is UHT better for the environment even if the Tetra Paks aren't recycled
UHT is well known to be better for the environment, see e.g. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27898-so-many-milks-but-do-their-health-claims-really-stack-up/
However, our local council does not ...
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Why is reducing the consumption of recyclables is better than recycling recyclables?
Why is reducing the consumption of recyclables is better than recycling recyclables? Some recyclables can be recycled only a limited number of times (plastics) so I partially understand it. But other ...
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How much of EV car batteries are reused/recycled? [duplicate]
If you buy an EV then the batteries last for a certain amount of years. But what happens after that? Are they recycled 100%?
Are the car companies like Tesla collecting those batteries to recycle?
If ...
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How can I recycle when my apartment doesn't offer it?
I live in an apartment in an urban area. I would love to be able to recycle, but unfortunately, my building doesn't offer recycling as a service.
I've searched for recycling facilities near me, and ...
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126
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Throwing away compostable packaging
When I search about recycling compostable packaging I always find articles about recycling packages to the backyard pit etc. My question is not about that. I just want to throw compostable packaging ...
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1
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Are a significant portion of electric vehicle batteries reused as grid-connected batteries?
I've heard lots of people mention that concerns about the sustainability of electric vehicles are mitigated when you consider that at end-of-life the batteries can be reused as stationary, grid ...
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1
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What happens to all the shards of broken glass that get recycled?
I searched for recycling glass and there are no results.
https://www.chestercountyswa.org/DocumentCenter/View/1646/New-Mixed-Paper-Guidelines?bidId=
What happens with the broken glass in the recycling?...
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How can I recycle an enameled cast iron dutch oven?
I have an enameled cast iron dutch oven that has become unusable due to how cracked and chipped the enamel is. I need to get rid of it, and I'd hate to throw it away because there are several pounds ...
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Biodegradable Food Packging
I am trying to figure out an application for a biodegradable packaging material a found out about. It is made from old or used potatoes or corn starch. I was thinking of using it in Pizza boxes to ...
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1
answer
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What plastics are safe/useful to melt?
I have seen a number of videos that talk about melting down HDPE and/or LDPE for craft projects. Some say these types of plastic are safer to some extent. I would like to do some crafts as well that ...
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5
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Is there a solution for flattening/reducing the volume of plastic recyclables in the home?
I've been having issues with my indoors storage solution for plastics. Loose wrappers and containers from food products tend to take an unnecessarily large amount of space and without a way to ...
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Are American census bags recyclable?
Yesterday, I received my census questionnaire. So have many millions of other Americans, recently.
These bags are not labeled for recycling, but are they recyclable? Can I put them in the deposits at ...
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Is there a recycled ABS that can be used for injection moulded parts?
Also if there is how is it recoloured and does it have any properties that are not as desirable as virgin ABS ? This would be better for the environment and more sustainable because it reuses plastic ...
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Why is so much railroad steel not recycled?
As I’ve wandered in many places, I have often encountered abandoned railways, or railways still in use surrounded by hundreds of discarded spikes.
It makes sense in most places for scrapyards to be ...
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Can I recycle greasy metal in the US?
In the United States, I know that paper and plastic are often not recyclable if they are greasy.
Can I recycle metal that has vegetable grease on it surface? I'm thinking of canisters that once ...
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In what unexpected ways could human hairs be recycled or upcycled? [duplicate]
Currently, hairdressers around the world throw away tonnes of human hairs after they have given someone a new hairstyle. I know people sometimes donate their hair, which can be used to create wigs.
...
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Are single-use PurPod coffee pods from Ethical Bean made with PLA?
I'm purchasing "compostable" K-cup coffee pods from Ethical Bean (see attached photo) that work in Keurig single-serve coffee machines. According to their FAQ, these compostable pods are OK for the ...
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How can I recycle safety razor blades?
I recently switched to a safety razor because
It's cheaper in the long run, even if I change blades more often
disposables are a recycling nightmare - (metal bonded to plastic)
Of course eventually ...
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453
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Why don't mineral water cans carry a deposit label?
I've been putting in the recycling bin all our "sparkling water," "mineral water," and unflavored Canada Dry cans. But then I wondered if I could return them to the grocery store for deposits. ...
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203
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Distinguishing between polyethylene and polypropylene plastic food packaging for recycling
I want to recycle as much food packaging plastic films as possible (I'm willing to clean and dry them). As far as I know, food packaging films are only made from 3 types of plastic: polyethylene (PE), ...
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Is boxed wine more ecofriendly than bottled wine?
In a few weeks I'll be hosting an event and will need to purchase wine for about 30 or 40 people. For myself and my partner, I typically purchase boxed wine as it stays fresh longer (assuming the wine ...
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