zac.garver
Brooklyn Trashcan
Consider:
The trashcan, what it's made of and what it contains.
Recycling as an industry:
One impetus behind recycling is that idea that the reclamation of certain materials is cheaper, or just as useful as sending the raw materials through the manufacturing process.
A good example of this is scrap metal industry.
In order to extract copper and aluminum from ore requires a large amount of electricity, not to mention the fuel used to mine and ship the ore to a smelter. Thus recycling the metals proves to be economical, it is a money making endeavor.
Over the last five years copper prices have fluctuated between .70 cents per pound and the current price of $4.10 per pound. In fact, the price for all recycled metals has increased drastically as a result of economic expansion in China and India.
Compare this to the recycling of glass. Glass containers are made from silicon (sand) melted to high temperatures and formed around molds. Sand is very cheap. So the net gain of taking existing glass bottles, crushing and melting them to be remade into containers is negligible.
Also notice the historic bluestone walkway. Much of the sidewalks in Brooklyn are made of a sedimentary rock known as bluestone. Interested readers can access an article: query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00E6D9123DF933A... dealing with the restoration of Brooklyn's sidewalks using this unique material and the conflicts surrounding it.
How long will these trashcans last? It takes 20 years for a plastic bag to decompose, it takes 250 years for a plastic cup. Of course a trashcan is being used heavily and slowly worn away. Will the can itself be recycled? Or will it just be thrown into a garbage truck and taken to a landfill.
Brooklyn Trashcan
Consider:
The trashcan, what it's made of and what it contains.
Recycling as an industry:
One impetus behind recycling is that idea that the reclamation of certain materials is cheaper, or just as useful as sending the raw materials through the manufacturing process.
A good example of this is scrap metal industry.
In order to extract copper and aluminum from ore requires a large amount of electricity, not to mention the fuel used to mine and ship the ore to a smelter. Thus recycling the metals proves to be economical, it is a money making endeavor.
Over the last five years copper prices have fluctuated between .70 cents per pound and the current price of $4.10 per pound. In fact, the price for all recycled metals has increased drastically as a result of economic expansion in China and India.
Compare this to the recycling of glass. Glass containers are made from silicon (sand) melted to high temperatures and formed around molds. Sand is very cheap. So the net gain of taking existing glass bottles, crushing and melting them to be remade into containers is negligible.
Also notice the historic bluestone walkway. Much of the sidewalks in Brooklyn are made of a sedimentary rock known as bluestone. Interested readers can access an article: query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00E6D9123DF933A... dealing with the restoration of Brooklyn's sidewalks using this unique material and the conflicts surrounding it.
How long will these trashcans last? It takes 20 years for a plastic bag to decompose, it takes 250 years for a plastic cup. Of course a trashcan is being used heavily and slowly worn away. Will the can itself be recycled? Or will it just be thrown into a garbage truck and taken to a landfill.