Once in a sunny day of spring 1987, a smelly sea boat cast off from one of Long Island, New York piers and sailed into history. The name of the vessel was Mobro. It was a large barge heavily loaded with 3,168 tons of garbage. The famous-now Garbage Cruise ran along the Atlantic Coast and into the Gulf of Mexico.

The garbage, litter, trash, rubbish from Islip, Long Island, NY, and other New York boroughs and townships traveled six thousand miles along the way. I about 5 months of traveling the famous boat pulled into the dock still loaded with the same amount of garbage it had started with. The story triggered a lot of headlines and debates. The funny if not serious and sad Garbage Cruise story made history.

How the famous Garbage Cruise was originated? It all started a few moths before the boat cast off the pier when New Your State officials declared that their landfills-garbage dumps-were full. The decisions was made not to enlarge landfills since stinky air, methane, insects and rodents generated by the garbage dumps were posing a serious threat to citizens health.

The local Islip Township officials announced that they would accept residential trash only. Commercial businesses would have dispose of their waste somewhere else hauling commercial garbage by roll off containers or...

This post was prepared and published with the help of environmentally concerned members of Roll Off Dumpster Rentals Cooperative : Dumpster Rentals in Seattle , Dumpster Rentals in Sacramento , Dumpster Rentals in Phoenix and Roll Off Containers Phoenix .

How big are your feet?

Imagine walking barefoot along a beach, always keeping your steps on the wet sand where the waves wash up onshore. With each step, you leave a clear print; but when you look back, the water washes your footprints away. The fresh unmarked sandy beach reappears. Your human footprint seems insignificant compared to the power of Nature. But is...

Ever thought what happens with your junk when a truck driver hauls away a full of trash roll off dumpster? Or have you ever thought where black garbage bags go after you drop them in a curbside container and a squeaky garbage truck picks them up on a garbage day? If not than listen to a story delivered by the folks from Seattle Roll Off Dumpster Rentals and Phoenix Trash Removal teams.

After picking up your roll off container truck driver steers into an enormous industrial site. A crowd of crows, swirl of dust, and a whiff of fresh garbage are clues that this is one of North America's largest landfills. The driver rolls up to the weigh scales to see how much are the dumping fees.

This landfill site is as good as it gets. A natural lining of clay goes down 262 feet from the surface, sealing garbage in. Tall portable screens trap airborne litter, while a perimeter of mounded-up soil and the surrounding cornfields help keep garbage out of the neighbors' view. The business of operating a landfill requires making space ready to receive hundred of loads of trash. Enormous earth-moving...

Metals are valuable materials because they can be used in many ways. A variety of metals can be found in the home: steel and aluminum in cans and aerosols, lead on the roof, copper on the pipes, and gold and silver in jewelry.

Where metal comes from

Most metals cannot be dug straight from the ground. A metal usually occurs as an ore; for example, iron is found in iron ore and aluminum occurs as an ore called bauxite. The ores are found in rocks that have to be quarried or mined from the ground. Then the ores have to be crushed and transported to factories, where they are heated to high temperatures to extract the metal.

Easy to recycle

Recycling metal is much easier compared with extracting the metal from rocks. Metals are very easy to recycle, and they can be recycled over and over again. Waste metal is tipped into a large furnace and heated to a high temperature so that it melts. The molten metal is poured into a mold to make an ingot. The ingots are stored until the metal is needed to make something. Then it is melted again and reshaped into a new object.

Helping the environment

Recycling metal helps the environment. A lot of fuel is used to remove the rocks from the ground and then transport them around the world. More fuel is needed to extract the...

Glass is a very useful material. It can be made into bottles, jars, and other containers to hold liquids and foods. Also, it can be recycled over and over again.

Reusing glass bottles
 It is much better for the environment's sake to reuse a glass bottle than to recycle it. Glass bottles can be collected, washed, and refilled. Bottles that are reused need to be a bit heavier than other bottles so that they do not break or chip easily.

Some glass bottles may be reused more than 30 times and have a life of four years. In the developing world, it is common for glass bottles to be collected and reused.

Recycling glass bottles

Bottles to be recycled are collected at recycling centers. The glass is crushed to form cullet, which is transported to glass factories.
Glass is made from sand, soda ash, and limestone. Additives may be used to give the glass a color or to make it more resistant to heat. These raw materials are heated in a furnace to 3,272°F (1 ,800°C)'so they melt. The molten glass is poured into molds to form new bottles.  Cullet is usually added to the furnace with the raw materials, so fewer raw materials are required to make the glass.

Clear glass is the most...

Many of the most deadly wastes end up stored in drums , too toxic to throw away!

We live in a throwaway society. Every year the waste increases, both in bulk and in complexity. The world chemical industry has increased its production, and its waste, by at least 15 times since 1945. A lot of the waste produced is simply unsightly but some can be toxic. Toxic waste is poisonous. It pollutes rivers and Lakes, is dumped in the sea and can cause severe health problems.

But not all the problems are created by industry. Domestic rubbish on a dump can also be toxic especially when it contains items like old batteries or paint thinner.

Rain water washes through the dump dissolving any toxic chemicals thrown out as domestic rubbish. The chemicals ooze from the bottom of the dump as a thick, poisonous sludge.

We talk of the “disposal" of waste, but this is really the wrong word. Waste can only be shifted from one place to another or converted into a different form. Waste that is buried may be invisible, but it has not been disposed of. It may still cause problems if houses are built on it or if it should contaminate water supplies. Waste that is burned is turned into gas and smoke that can pollute the air. Much as we would like it,...

Why has the problem of toxic waste become so great and so widespread?  How did it get started?  We will cover these and other questions in the next several posts of our Dumpster Rentals Blog.  Keep reading.

This post was prepared and published with the help of environmentally concerned members of Dumpster Rentals Cooperative:  

Recycling is a simple process that can help resolve many of the problems created by our modern way of life. Nonrenewable resources are clearly saved when recycling materials are supplemented in the manufacturing process. Renewable resources, such as trees, are also saved in the short run, but it’s naïve to imagined that recycling will result in large tracks of untouched forest. Eventually, fewer renewable resources will be planted, cultivated, and harvested. Producing recyclable materials consumes less energy. When this energy reduction is in the form of fossil fuels, there is less acid rain produced, and a decreased greenhouse effect.

Another recycling benefit is that it extends the life of landfills. The United States ‘ waste stream is the biggest in the world. In 1988, only 13% of the waste stream was diverted into the recycling stream. The recycling potential for most commodities is a diversion rate of more then 50%.

The list below illustrates percentage of recovery of some of the recyclables:

• Steel - 60.0%
• Paper - 33%
• Aluminum – 41.7%
• Glass – 13.3%
• Copper – 58.6%

On the financial frontier, recycling could potentially create a net increase in jobs. Waste material source3s are fragmented, and materials are not concentrated in areas such as mines and forests. Compared to virgin materials, recyclable materials must be collected, sorted, and...

Kitchen Renovation: Basics of Cabinets Replacement

It is no surprise that the remodeling of the kitchen is at the top of the list of home improvement projects in every household. Kitchen renovation helps to significantly increase the value of your home. Most of us realize that our kitchen is more than simply a place where we spend some time to prepare meals; it is the essence of our home and an investment in your lifestyle.

Whether you are looking to create a bold and punchy contrast or an understated look to coordinate with your surroundings, the result reflects the character of the owner and the home.

The scope of the kitchen renovation project may vary depending on available resources, budget and the desire of the home owner for the change.  Very often, however, just replacement of kitchen cabinets can dramatically improve the look and feel.

Cabinet Basics

The basic cabinet component is a carcass – the frame that supports the counter and outlines doors and drawers. These are generally constructed of fir or birch plywood or particle-board, joined together with rabbeted joints and glue. Base cabinets are braced on bottom risers made from 2x4 (which become the...

Reroofing Asphalt Shingles Roof

Most asphalt shingles should last without leaking for 15 to 20 years. Some last longer – even 25 or 30 years. After about 15 years, however, you might start checking for signs of wear. But don’t jump the gun. There is no advantage in re roofing a house ahead of time – before the shingles have started to deteriorate and years before they are ready to spring a leak.

Reroofing consists of applying new shingles over the existing roofing material. This is less expensive and easier than a tear-off job, which requires that the old roofing be stripped off and hauled away.

Tear-Off or Reroof?

The first step in determining whether or not to reroof is to check the rake of the roof to find out how many roofing layers there are. (The drip edge sometimes is applied before reroofing and may hide evidence of previous layers). Once you determine the number of layers, check local roofing codes for the maximum number of roofing layers allowed – the figure will be different depending on the type of roofing and pitch of the roof. For asphalt shingles, codes usually allow the original plus two layers of reroofing.

All rotten boards under the old roofing must be replaced, Go to the attic and examine any suspicious...