In this photo: Ed Piano (photos | remove tag)
Monday, February 7, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
paradigm shift
plastic is not the problem, recycling is
lahar is not the problem, resource maximization is
= = = =
our rivers and drainages are silted
it causes foul odors (shit river), death to marine life, flooding, destruction and waterways are not used for transport
photo of plastic clogging rivers and drainages
dumpsites and garbage bins are always overflowing with plastic and styro
photo of clogged drainage and rivers
Olongapo Story
When I was in the city council, I tried in many occasions to introduce an ordinance that would phase-out the styro being used in fast foods and catering services, but its was harder than I thought due to economic reasons and the lack of political will of elected officials.
With the end to the use of plastic and styro nowhere in sight and in fact escalating in an uncontrollable phase, an answer has to come fast or mother earth's distruction could be by the next turn.
Villagers in Philippines turn their plastic waste into bricks.
Transcript: |
Environment-conscious villagers recycle plastic waste to produce bricks for construction. SHOWS: (ASIA) RIZAL PROVINCE, PHILIPPINES (MAY 28, 2007) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL) 1. RECYCLING FACILITY 2. MEN SEPARATING PLASTIC WASTE 3. MAN OPERATING A "RESIDUAL PULVERIZER" MACHINE. 4. WASTE PLASTIC FED INTO THE RESIDUAL PULVERIZER 5. MORE OF PULVERIZER BEING OPERATED 6. VARIOUS OF SHREDDED PLASTIC BITS 7. (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) JOHN SAN JOSE, VILLAGE CHIEF, SAYING: "Burnt plastic is bad for our system. What we do with it is we grind it and make them into hollow blocks." 8. MEN SHOVELING BRICK MIX INTO A MOLD 9. MOLD BEING FILLED WITH BRICK MIX 10. BRICKS BEING DRIED 11. CLOSE UP OF MOLD LIFTED TO SHOW FRESHLY MADE BRICKS 12. (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) BRIAN AREVALO, EARTH MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, SAYING: "We have to grind the bulks of plastic so the volume shrinks. And then we use it as a raw material to make hollow blocks." 13. MAN POURING SHREDDED PLASTIC INTO MIXTURE OF WATER, SAND AND CEMENT 14. SHREDDED PLASTIC POURED TO THE MIX 15. (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) BRIAN AREVALO, EARTH MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, SAYING: "With this technology we can reduce garbage by 75 percent. That means it's a five-year solution, and now we have 20 years to think of an ultimate solution to garbage." 16. WASTE PLASTIC AND BRICKS STORY: In Rizal province, around 35 kilometres away from Manila, residents have found a new way of recycling their plastic waste to make bricks. The town of Teresa used to accumulate around three tonnes of waste a week such as styrofoam, plastic and discarded clothing items. A non-biodegradable waste material, plastic takes about 30 to 40 years to disintegrate. While other cities resort to burning their garbage including plastic, residents of Teresa not only recycle the waste but have also discovered a new use for it. "Burnt plastic is bad for our system. What we do with it is we grind it and make them into hollow blocks," said village chief John San Jose. The process of creating hollow blocks, or bricks, from plastic involves pulverising the plastic, then mixing it with gravel. Teresa has only been using the technology for less than one year, and the bricks have yet to be tested by the public. "We have to grind the bulks of plastic so the volume shrinks. And then we use it as a raw material to make hollow blocks," said Brian Arevalo, inventor of the technology and manager of Earth Management and Recycling Technology. The bricks made with plastic are non-load bearing and are only recommendable for constructing fences, balusters or plant boxes. Slightly less expensive than regular hollow blocks, they have been ordered by some local residents who don't only find them more economical but also support the environmental cause behind the idea. "With this technology we can reduce garbage by 75 percent. That means it's a five-year solution, and now we have 20 years to think of an ultimate solution to garbage," said Arevalo. Arevalo's group has long offered the pulverising technology to various local governments, but only Teresa has taken it up. Now, two more municipalities are interested to see how they can re-use their non-biodegradable waste. |
From garbage to house bricks
Increasing garbage and its proper disposal management are among the major headaches of municipalities today. Most view garbage as a cause of the floods that wreak havoc during typhoons, such as the Ondoy typhoon, which happened September 2010.
Even before Ondoy and Pepeng hit the Philippines, the country had been plagued by floods. However, what set apart the two recent catastrophes is their gravity. In six hours, Metro Manila received a month's worth of rainfall, according to thePhilippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services, Administration (PAGASA), the worst ever recorded in history.
Although many argue the cause of Ondoy's disaster as a confluence of various factors, many people also concluded that the increasing garbage in the Metro was a major contributor to the heavy flood.
This is one of the reasons why a growing number of municipalities are attracted to technologies that would introduce innovative ways of reducing garbage and disposing of it properly.
Currently being used by municipalities is the waste-conversion technology, among the most popular by-products of which are the concrete blocks, better known as “hollow blocks.” The technology is popular because it does not only reduce garbage but it also helps in combating climate change. Moreover through this initiative, municipalities are also attempting to challenge the quarrying activities done within their respective area.
The production of commercially-available concrete is estimated to produce more than six billion pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually. If less concrete is manufactured, then CO2 emissions will also be lessened. The energy-intensive process of manufacturing conventional concrete makes the technology dirty because of the CO2 emissions, thus contributing to climate change.
To briefly explain the technology, plastic wastes and styrofoam containers are segregated from the garbage to be fed into a diesel-powered pulverizing machine, which pulverizes the plastics into tiny bits and pieces. These are then mixed into a wet mound of cement and sand. The mixture will then be poured into the molder up to its brim. The molder is then lifted upside down to eject the freshly made hollow block.
One of the municipalities producing these alternative bricks is Teresa, Rizal. According to Teresa's solid waste management program chief Marlon Pielago, the blocks they produce are not as strong as the ones available commercially, and are not intended to replace the commercially produced ones.
Other cities and municipalities using the same and other related concrete-producing technology are Bantayan in Cebu; Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte; Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; and Mandurriao district in Iloilo City.
Related technologies on the international scene
Bitublock
While the concrete blocks produced locally are not meant to replace the commercial hollow blocks, there is one technology that provides exactly the opposite.
This is "Bitublock," an invention by Dr. John Forth of the School of Engineering, University of Leeds. “Our aim is to completely replace concrete as a structural material,” he said.
Made from 100% waste material such as sewage sludge, metal slag, recycled glass, pulverized fuel ash, and incinerator ash, Bitublock boasts that it is six times as strong as the regular hollow block.
In making the Bitublock, the secret ingredient is the sticky substance known as bitumen. This is used to hold the mixture of waste materials together so that they can easily be compacted into a mold to form a solid concrete block. The block is then heat-cured to oxidize the bitumen and make it hard as concrete.
Aside from reducing garbage, making Bitublock produces less CO2 emissions than does making the conventional concrete block.
Bitumen replaces the Portland cement used in manufacturing traditional concrete, which is the source of about 74 to 81 % CO2 emissions in concrete production, which in turn contributes 7% of the global CO2 emissions.
Overall, about 500,000 metric tons of incinerator ash and 400,000 metric tons of crushed glass could be diverted from the dumpsite for making more of the alternative Bitublock.
Concrete made of Fly Ash
Across the ocean, in Austin, Texas, a civil engineering staff professor, Dr. Maria Juenger, proposed to make concrete using the waste material known as fly ash, the by-product of coal-burning industry. “Fly ash is already used in concrete as a cement substitute and has a composition similar to cement.”
Plasma Gasification Process
Another process introduced to squeeze out whatever goodness there is from garbage is the Plasma Gasification Process (PGP), a "thermal process involving the application of intense heat to waste materials in a completely closed, controlled and oxygen-starved environment."
The PGP system has the ability to process any waste stream, including MSW (Municipal Solid Waste), municipal sewage sludge, paint sludge, drum reconditioning sludge, biomedical waste and spent potliner, organic petrochemical sludge, illicit drugs, high metal content waste, coal and MSW incinerator ashes, paper-mill reject waste, fluorescent light ballasts, asbestos-containing material, explosives industry waste, rubber tires and industrial hazardous wastes including PCBs and concentrated insecticides, a granular waste from aluminum smelting, biomass, oil shale, automobile fluff, and lead-contaminated soil.
The PGP as a waste-conversion technology has three by-products, one of which is slag, a glasslike reusable solid that can be molded into bricks. In sand form, it can be mixed with concrete for use in various construction projects.
While these advances in technologies may clearly respond to concerns in proper solid waste disposal management, the question remains whether quarrying can be stopped despite the introduction of potential alternatives.
Quarrying is a part of the big, profitable industrial world manned by powerful corporations, where environmental concerns often take a back seat to economic realities. It may take more than just a simple alternative technology to get rid of it. There is still a long way to go.
Photo: “from whence the brick came” by Len Matthews, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved.
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