Freecycle and a Recycling Robot

Good morning readers. The second week in a row I’m writing on a Monday morning. I do not like this trend. Hope everyone had a more relaxing weekend than I did. My weekend was full of traveling around Tucson and into Vail with a fellow Cat Scan classmate. We’re in the process of writing about how various golf courses in Tucson manage their water. We’ve taken a lot of photos but now it’s a matter of getting the interviews we want. Time is ticking away.

I didn’t get to talk to people about what they recycle but once again the internet comes through and so I found more interesting stuff you folks should check out. Last week I found this freecycle website and I looked a little more into it. Tucson has its own Freecycle Network group. There are 8,496 members in the Tucson group. The website didn’t look like much but the information it provided can be very helpful for those interested in joining. I want to reference a couple things from this website but please visit it anyway.

Here’s some brief information on the Freecycle Network:

“The Freecycle Network is open to all who want to recycle that special something rather than throw it away. Whether it's a chair, fax machine, piano or old door, feel free to post it. Nonprofit groups are welcome! One constraint: everything must be free, legal and appropriate for all ages. More info and list guidelines are sent on membership approval.”

For those who are interested in the statistics of the Freecycle Network and wonder how many joined, there’s a chart that shows it. The numbers fluctuate but it has come a way since beginning in 2003. This and more can be found at this website:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle/

I also found another website that’s full of materials that should be recycled. One product I haven’t brought up is yellow pages recycling. This website has a lot on recycled materials and I’m probably going to reference it again in the future. This is one section of the website on recycling yellow pages.

Yellow Pages
· The dye in these directories makes them unsuitable for normal recycling. Also large numbers are discarded around the same time, as a new edition arrives, and so much material would taint batches of paper pulp.
Most collection services will take Yellow pages through a box collection or from designated local collection points. Contact your local council for more information.

What Happens Next?
Yellow Pages are treated in a different way to other types of paper. Covers and glue are removed, pages are shredded and used in lots of imaginative ways: for animal bedding, Jiffy bags, cardboard and insulation for houses. An innovative scheme in Devon used shreddings beneath road surfaces to reduce noise. Near the Tewkesbury-based Highbed Paper Bedding company, some larger stables send used bedding for composting, so ensuring yet another ‘life’ and making maximum use of old Yellow Pages.

http://www.recyclingconsortium.org.uk/recycling/index.htm

I thought I’d leave you all with a funny article to read. This was on the same website where I found the recycling consortium index. It’s about a robot named Cycler and it teaches kids how to recycle. Kids were excited to see this recycling robot. It made me chuckle, did any of you have a recycling robot visit your school because I didn’t.

http://www.recyclingconsortium.org.uk/news/index.htm

Have a good week folks and stay relaxed.

If you wish to learn more about freecycle, read John DeDios story:

Freecycle Network Offers Tucsonans a Sense of Responsibility, Community