Early Risers.

[Coombe Barton]

8 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

It is quite necessary to remove the methane from a landfill. 

https://avadaenvironmental.com/2019/03/14/loscoe-landfill-gas-explosion/

[Coombe Barton]

With methane being 4-50* times a worse greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, burning is a less bad option.

 

* Large uncertainty as no-one can decide just how much worse.

[Ozexpatriate]

1 minute ago, Coombe Barton said:

With methane being 4-50* times a worse greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, burning is a less bad option.

 

* Large uncertainty as no-one can decide just how much worse.

Which makes burning it to generate electricity an improved "less bad" option.

[Coombe Barton]

UK's first 'poo bus' goes into service between Bristol and Bath

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-30115137

[Mark Saunders]

5 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

UK's first 'poo bus' goes into service between Bristol and Bath

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-30115137

and on Friday nights it will probably swimming in vomit!

Edited January 4, 2022 by Mark Saunders

[simontaylor484]

20 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Far better than simply venting, or burning the methane output as I have seen in some landfills. It is quite necessary to remove the methane from a landfill. 

 

If they are not doing landfills any more, where does the garbage go?

 

The unrecylable waste here is processed into waste derived fuel at a facility near South Kirkby then it is transported to 1 of 2 multi fuel power stations at Ferrybridge. 

In Sheffield waste is sent to an incinerator and burnt and used for heating and power generation.

 

[polybear]

4 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

On the subject of farm animal flatulence many farms now collect the animal waste into a silo and use the gases given off for generating electricity or operating farm machinery.

 

Now I wonder how much Bear Poo would be needed in order to generate enough power for a model railway?

 

In other news.....

Some very good news received today - the Model Engineering Class kicks off again this week   The Hush Hush Grey Hound (see what I did there?) is now fading a little - it'll be good to see the Guys again.

 

Tomorrow should see the mixing of mortar, to be used for holes, numerous, the filling of.  Mr. Met Office claims that all should be dry, though I may well freeze my bits off.  If all goes well there's a very real danger that I'll sorry, the lounge will be ready for plastering from Monday onwards.

[Ozexpatriate]

3 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

The unrecylable waste here is processed into waste derived fuel at a facility near South Kirkby then it is transported to 1 of 2 multi fuel power stations at Ferrybridge. 

In Sheffield waste is sent to an incinerator and burnt and used for heating and power generation.

I guess much depends on the sorting process. Is it normal to separate food waste from other solid waste in the UK?

 

Even with sorting recyclables, many plastics which are theoretically recyclable are not practically or economically* so. Paper recycling is also a minefield of unrealized expectations.

 

* Unless there is the will to spend public money on this. Unlike glass and metals, plastics recycling is never less expensive than first manufacture.

 

How easy is it to properly dispose of batteries and other post-consumer electronic waste in the UK?

 

I wonder with incineration how effective the emissions management is - not so much for CO2, but more for the toxic byproducts.

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

does the garbage go?

 

Good question. It is supposed to be incinerated, recycled, used for biogas or soil improver depending on what sort of rubbish it is. Our pink (with council name) recycling bags were supposed to go a specialist recycling plant. Many of us noticed them on a dump in Malaysia on a TV documentary. 

Edited January 4, 2022 by Tony_S

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

How easy is it to properly dispose of batteries and other post-consumer electronic waste in the UK?

For us, fairly easy. Our local council do try but as I mentioned above sometimes the next chain in the process can go wrong. 

[Tony_S]

7 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

sorting process. Is it normal to separate food waste from other solid waste in the UK?

 

We have a little bin for food waste, collected weekly. A sack for recyclable stuff, a wheelie bin for garden waste (we do compost as well) and a glass collection. Anything else goes in a black sack. Small electronics and batteries can be left at various places, or it they are bigger items at a recycling centre (aka tip). There are clothes collections too but we use the charity shop if possible. 

[Winslow Boy]

6 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I guess much depends on the sorting process. Is it normal to separate food waste from other solid waste in the UK?

 

Even with sorting recyclables, many plastics which are theoretically recyclable are not practically or economically* so. Paper recycling is also a minefield of unrealized expectations.

 

* Unless there is the will to spend public money on this. Unlike glass and metals, plastics recycling is never less expensive than first manufacture.

 

How easy is it to properly dispose of batteries and other post-consumer electronic waste in the UK?

 

I wonder with incineration how effective the emissions management is - not so much for CO2, but more for the toxic byproducts.

All food waste is supposed to collected separately and composted. But as with any system the take up is variable.

I think it's something like 50% on average.

 

Similarly batteries are collected at most of the major supermarkets. In addition local 'amenity' sites (tips) also collect them.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. There are a few sewerage works that burn (untreated) human waste to produce electricity, the resulting ash is made into building blocks. This also deals with the problem of micro-plastics and other things such as wipes and cotton buds that otherwise would have to be removed before treatment.

50 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

How easy is it to properly dispose of batteries and other post-consumer electronic waste in the UK?

Very easy for batteries and long life (florescent) light bulbs, collection boxes are positioned in larger supermarkets and shopping centres. For larger items they have to be taken to the tip where they have disposal facilities. 

[PeterBB]

Following Ozexpatriate's question and e.g. Tony's answer it would be great if all councils waste bins sorted in the same manner. e.g. like Tony our last council separated food waste from everything else but where we are now food waste goes into the general waste bin.

 

Ona topic that came up on the news this evening paint - the previous council told me to throw it in the residual waste container (as apparently 90% of paint goes) whereas the current council has a specific area for it and other 'toxic' household chemicals.  Paint, unless it congeals in the tin, lasts for ages so can be suitably recycled with the will to do so effectively.

Most seem to have battery areas these days.

 

The conclusion therefore is still swings and roundabouts with some good at something and rubbish at something else.

Edited January 4, 2022 by PeterBB
The rubbish pun was unintended

[simontaylor484]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I guess much depends on the sorting process. Is it normal to separate food waste from other solid waste in the UK?

 

Even with sorting recyclables, many plastics which are theoretically recyclable are not practically or economically* so. Paper recycling is also a minefield of unrealized expectations.

 

* Unless there is the will to spend public money on this. Unlike glass and metals, plastics recycling is never less expensive than first manufacture.

 

How easy is it to properly dispose of batteries and other post-consumer electronic waste in the UK?

 

I wonder with incineration how effective the emissions management is - not so much for CO2, but more for the toxic byproducts.

It is fairly easy to recycle batteries, most stores have a container you can drop them in personally we save them in a plastic tub and take them to the tip and put them in the recycling bin there. You can also recycle light bulbs there and electricals both large and small. There are also recycling points round the area where you can take glass,cans paper and cardboard there are now banks for small electrical items 

[Winslow Boy]

Incinerators are also extremely tightly regulated to ensure that they don't emite any type of pollutants.

[simontaylor484]

Well I have just finished watching what I think was the worst Jonathon Creek episode. I have managed to order a full set of good quality wiper blades from Euro Car Parts for a reasonable price 45% off I collect on Thursday from Normanton which is easy from the school run

And on that note its goodnight from him

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

Landfill refuse tips are being phased out here but the nearby one at Pitsea recovered methane from rotting waste to power the site facility. 

A late friendvof mine spent over 20 years looming after the electrics on large methane powered generators at landfill sites. However such things are not new.  Bradfird's main sewerage works at Esholt used to run it's two tank e gines on wool grease extracted from the throughput. It needed to be steam heated before it would flow.

 

Jamie

[Ozexpatriate]

37 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Incinerators are also extremely tightly regulated to ensure that they don't emit any type of pollutants.

"Any type of pollutant" depends on your definition of "pollutant".

 

It's mostly possible if what goes into the incinerator is very carefully managed. It would be almost magic otherwise.

 

I imagine the energy required to reach temperatures required to completely incinerate waste would be much higher than any energy recovered through electricity generation. The garbage can't burn itself without a lot of help.

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

Thanks for all the replies!

 

It sounds much easier to properly dispose of batteries in the UK. It is difficult here. I used to dispose of them at a collection point at my old workplace. I don't even know where to take them now. (I won't just put them in the bin, but I expect most Americans do.)

 

Plastics recycling is a black hole. It's my understanding that 1-PETE and 2-HDPE are the only plastics you might reliably count on actually being recycled. Perhaps things are different in the UK. Like @Tony_S's story about Malaysia much "recycled" US plastic (which at one point filled otherwise empty containers on their trip back to China) goes to dumps in places like Indonesia where it is often burned. Some like 4-LDPE and 5-PP can be 'upcycled'* but aren't usually accepted by recycling drop-offs.

 

* One time reprocessing into things like park benches, pipes and bin liners.

 

Paper recycling is not much different in its murkiness. One old greasy pizza box can cause a processor to refuse a whole load of recyclable paper material. They mostly want very "clean", ex-office material. Many recycling centres are now accumulating huge bales of paper with nowhere (economical) to send it.

 

My bins are:

• Crate for glass (no lids)
• Wheelie bin for mixed paper/metal/plastic (no bottle lids)
• Wheelie bin for solid household waste
• Wheelie bin for garden waste

There is no separation of food waste versus other household waste here.

 

Stormwater drains here often go straight into the natural hydrology. (Most are separate from sewers.) In my neighbourhood they drain directly into an earth seep/drainage field which ultimately feeds the natural hydrology (like a local creek).

 

In Portland they often have salmon-shaped signage to remind people not to dump anything but some is inevitable - like detergents when washing the car, and rubber/motor oil residue. For many years the City of Portland avoided road salt in icy conditions but due to public pressure are using it more frequently.

[Winslow Boy]

Much the same here in one form or another.

 

I considerable amount of effort and money has been spent on trying to stop sewage from being simply let into natural water courses but it still occurs I'm afraid.

 

There was a bit of a stink, pardon the pun, when people found that out. There was even an attempt to tighten some legislation that was going through parilment before Christmas but it got shot down as the various water companies applied pressure.

[J. S. Bach]

Night owl from the Piedmont.

[Ozexpatriate]

39 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

I considerable amount of effort and money has been spent on trying to stop sewage from being simply let into natural water courses but it still occurs I'm afraid.

The City of Portland spent well over $1B on their "Big Pipe" project to reduce combined sewer overflows into the Willamette drainage. It works but is not infallible.

 

The results though are dramatically better than doing nothing.

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

I parked up in the hospital car park just before 8:20 and arrived at the urology clinic a couple minutes before 8:30. I had to have a couple of tests and they both required a lot of waiting round. I ended up being there for just over 3 1/2 hours and I finally set off for home just after 12 o’clock. But, the good news is that they are very pleased with my progress, even if it’s not as fast as I thought it would be. They assured me that things WILL definitely improve over time, I just have to be patient. The even better news is that my bladder is now emptying properly and the stress that was being placed on my kidneys has greatly reduced. I’ve been given a few more exercises to do, which should hopefully speed things up. So, on the whole it’s been a good day and both Sheila and I are delighted with the results. 

 

This afternoon I finished making the spiced tea loaf I’d left soaking overnight. So the kitchen had a lovely aroma as we sat and ate tea this evening. 

 

This evening we spoke to Vickie and she told us that Charlie has now had 2 consecutive negative test results, so is now officially Covid free, so he is going back to work tomorrow!

 

On the whole, it’s been a day of good news all round and we don’t seem to have had many of those these days! 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all