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According to the Department of Energy, paper incineration produces 8.000 Btu/pound while recycling recovers only 2.000 Btu/pound. That means that in order to obtain a balance between the two methods, the paper would have to be recovered as pulp for four times at least, compromising the quality of the fibers

To give an idea of the amount of nondurable products consumed in the US and consequently of the potential for solid waste recovery, we shall quote some bits of information from Tom Heyman’s “In an Average Lifetime”: “During his life, the average American will consume 20.301 bottles of beer, 460 …

A widely explored myth is that waste paper recycling saves forests and preserves natural resources. On the contrary, cellulose is always obtained from cultivated trees, a renewable resource. And the energy consumed in recycling paper is in some cases many times greater than the energy used in its fabrication from …

For the first time in Europe, the problem of recycling and giving a final destination to automotive vehicles is being discussed as a subject of federal legislation. A new law, approved this year by the German parliament fees cars abandoned in the streets, appoints car industries as responsible for the …

Recycling campaigns in some cities in the United States and in Western Europe encourage the population to take their recyclable domestic solid waste (glass, plastic, paper, cardboard paper, metal, etc.) to proper disposable units, usually large and colorful plastic containers installed in public places, to be removed to sorting centers or …

Migros, a Swiss chain of supermarkets, in partnership with the Swiss Secretariat for Environmental Protection, developed a software that carries out a comparative analysis of various types of containers regarding each phase of its production, utilization and final disposition. This program quantifies and sets grades for each energy unit consumed, …

São Paulo: In some years, solid waste might no longer have the same destination of the wastes produced by the food industry and agriculture. The waste, rich in proteins, might be transformed into solution for medical and nourishing purposes. This is what thinks Professor Raquel Camargo Giordano from Universidade Federal …

A German study concluded that if plastic containers were banned from the market, domestic waste would weigh 404% more, energy consumption would be 212% higher, and the cost of containers would go up 212%. Germany’s Ministry of Environment published new statistics showing that atmospheric and liquid emissions are smaller with …

Northwest Quality Innovations, an American corporation specialized in novelties, manufactured shoes named “DejaShoes-footwear with a past and a future” utilizing old tires for the soles, recovered polypropylene for the upper half and recycled steel for the eyelets. The shoes’ final cost was US$ 59,00 and they were made with Nike …

Aluminum is produced through the electrolysis of alumina, obtained from bauxite ore. Approximately, 4 tons of bauxite are necessary to produce 1 ton of aluminum, which is enough to produce 60 thousand cans of 33cl. Aluminum production demands large amounts of energy: to obtain 1 ton, you need about 16 …