How to recycle garbage at home. Goals of Waste Recycling Why Incineration is Not the Optimal Solution

One of the wise men once said a long time ago that you can make money even from what lies under your feet.

Modern practice confirms his words. Waste recycling is a very profitable business, and the following indicators confirm this fact:

• Processing companies are not that common, and there is plenty of raw material.
• An entrepreneur has the opportunity to accept various types of waste in an organized manner.
• High profitability is ensured by the possibility of recycling waste and turning it into secondary raw materials.

The relevance of this business can be seen in almost every aspect, from the fact that it has a positive effect on the environmental situation, and ending with the fact that the result gives greater profit to the owner.

The positive aspects include:

• support from local authorities (this area is very poorly funded, and the local administration is obliged to ensure cleanliness, therefore, you can safely count on support for such an idea and help with finding industrial premises);
• unlimited volume of production raw materials;
• if it is not possible to get involved with the expensive and labor-intensive process of creating a waste processing plant, then you can limit yourself to building a workshop, which will cost several times less and will bring a decent profit.

Despite many positive aspects, entrepreneurs may also encounter some problems related to the delivery and sorting of waste. The correct approach to these issues will certainly lead you to an adequate solution.

An interesting story about this field of activity in Russian conditions is in the following video:

What kind of waste can you deal with and what is most profitable?

So, let's look at the most common options:

• Car tires. The most promising and profitable method of processing this variety is called pyrolysis (depolymerization), which consists in the decomposition of rubber:
  • on carbon;
  • for gas;
  • for steel cord, which is an excellent raw material for the metallurgical industry;
  • for synthetic oil.

  Each of these products is a sought-after raw material, and if sales are organized correctly, the result can be high profitability.

• Construction garbage usually consists of concrete, brick, wood and metal. After careful sorting, you can, for example, begin processing concrete, which includes crushing and parallel extraction of metal particles from it. As a result, it is possible to obtain secondary crushed stone used in construction. In world practice, it is now increasingly common to dismantle buildings and sort construction waste, about 80% of which can be reused.
• Recycling broken glass involves reusing non-standard and broken bottles that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Broken glass can be taken directly from production or you can organize your own collection point for glass containers or your own waste sorting line. Recycled raw materials are readily available to glass manufacturers because the material can be melted at lower temperatures than the glass-making process requires. Also, this secondary raw material is in great demand among manufacturers of abrasives, ceramic products, tiles and bricks.
• Used paper. The process of processing simple (so-called wet) waste paper involves:
  • dissolving paper in water using a thinner;
  • removing all foreign objects from it with a cyclone cleaner;
  • thermomechanical treatment, if we are talking about cardboard;
  • fine purification of the mixture (filtration).

  Recycled paper can be used to make packaging board, toilet paper or roofing material.

Necessary documents for business registration

Legal recycling of solid household waste involves obtaining a license from the Ministry of Ecology. The Law “On Environmental Expertise” regulates the obligation of each entity that decides to collect and process waste to conduct an environmental assessment. This conclusion can be used throughout the entire life of the company (the approximate cost of this document is 5,500 rubles).

The entrepreneur must obtain permits from services such as fire protection and sanitary, and also stock up on project documentation that will describe all the technological processes of the future waste recycling organization. The total period for collecting and confirming documentation varies from 2 to 4 months, and the cost is approximately 24,000 rubles.

Where to get garbage?

The average trash can contains:

• 50% polymers: polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene;
• 25% food waste;
• 10% paper and cardboard;
• 15-20% rubber, metal, textiles.

In general, household waste is at least 60% recyclable. But this is only from a theoretical point of view, since separate collection of solid waste, generally accepted in many European countries, seems to us only a distant prospect. And unseparated waste sent to a modern recycling line can only give a result of 25%.

The best option is to install special mobile processing plants. They can be manual or automated, and their cost ranges from several hundred thousand to several million dollars.

There is another option: concluding an agreement with a local landfill or collection point for glass or plastic containers. Then the problem of sorting will disappear by itself: production will be provided with ready-made and sorted waste at a price of up to 5 rubles/kg.

Efficient production organization

Suitable premises are a very important stage, because for waste processing production you need at least 600 m2, for a processing workshop - 300-400 m2, and for a warehouse - 200 m2. In addition to buildings and structures for industrial purposes, it is necessary to allocate space for administrative premises, which can be located both on the production site and outside it. By the way, workshops located next to the city landfill will help reduce costs both for the delivery of raw materials and for renting premises.

The minimum equipment package should include:

• sorting line;
• storage bunker;
• crusher;
• magnet;
• bake.

Additional equipment is a melting furnace, but it is worth considering that it will significantly increase the cost side of the project.

Domestic equipment is considered the most affordable and functional.

Staff

It is impossible to recycle household waste without manual labor. In order to carry out sorting, selection, calibration and many other production steps, it is necessary staff from 20 to 40 people(it all depends on production volumes).

In addition, high-quality functioning of the enterprise is impossible without accountant, driver, manager and cleaner.

Sales channels for finished products

The final result directly depends on the raw materials used:

• Toxic waste, such as mercury lamps, can be used to produce many industrial and construction materials;
• compost can be made from plant waste, which serves as an excellent soil fertilizer;
• from electronic waste (picture tubes, electrical appliances) - iron, copper, aluminum and glass;
• from paper - secondary raw materials, from which new materials are subsequently formed.

And the main consumers of waste processing services and materials will be:

• enterprises whose activities are related to one or another final product - cellulose, wood, glass;
• industrial and individual consumers in need of secondary raw materials.

About costs and future profits

Waste recycling is quite a profitable business even considering the amount of funds required for its organization. This type of business will pay for itself very quickly (1.5-2 years) if sales are well established. Experts, based on their own observations, claim that The level of profitability of waste recycling production ranges from 42 to 80%, because this market segment is practically not subject to competition.

Based on the practice of existing enterprises, you can work with the following statistical data:

• One shift can process 3 tons of waste paper, 1.5 tons of polymer waste or 250 kg of plastic raw materials.
• One ton of any raw material costs on average from 9,000 to 45,000 rubles.
• Consequently, the average monthly profit of such an enterprise can range from 150,000 to 3,300,000 rubles.

A huge universal complex for processing any type of waste (wood, plastic, metal, paper or glass) will cost a huge amount of money. Experts claim that the amount will exceed the $20 million mark.

But even a modest enterprise has the opportunity to bring a decent profit. Setting up a workshop specializing in one type of waste will cost from 50 to 300 thousand dollars. Arrangement of warehouse and production premises in accordance with fire and sanitary requirements - another 2-3 thousand. A crusher, sorting line and other necessary equipment will require 50-70 thousand dollars.

In general, the business of receiving and processing waste is very relevant. The size of the initial investment is of course higher than that of or, but the amount of profit will also please you at the very beginning.

Waste recycling in Russia is complicated by the fact that the territorial and infrastructural features of the country do not yet allow for the effective separate collection and transportation of waste. Experts believe that the development of local and regional markets for secondary raw materials and products made from them will help move this problem forward. This requires decisions from municipal authorities that would encourage entrepreneurial initiative in this area of ​​production activity.

Another possible solution that will allow the development of the waste recycling industry is to build specialized complexes near large cities, using proven schemes and technologies that have long been successfully used abroad as the basis for their work. One of the obstacles here remains the imperfection of Russian legislation in the field of ecology and the lack of common standards for the country for the processing and use of secondary raw materials.

It is expected that by 2020 a full-fledged garbage and other waste recycling industry will be created in Russia. In 2013, a special bill was prepared amending the law “On production and consumption waste”. Legislators believe that after the adoption of amendments affecting the interests of citizens and entrepreneurs, there will be additional incentives for the development of certain industries related to waste disposal.

How does waste disposal work?

In cities and other populated areas of Russia, you can increasingly find containers for separate waste collection. This system makes further waste processing more efficient and less costly. For some time now, recycling plants have begun to use repurchase of recycled materials, but such programs primarily concern only paper, certain types of plastic and polyethylene. The fact is that most often it is these raw materials that are processed in specialized factories.

In 2013, there were about 250 waste recycling plants in Russia, but their number is growing steadily. The production cycle at such enterprises is increasingly subject to unification and standardization. Waste processing plants in Russia often have their own services for transporting, sorting and recycling waste. Special equipment for various purposes makes it possible to extract household and secondary raw materials, which are easily stored, transported and converted into items that have value in the eyes of consumers.

From the point of view of recycling efficiency in Russia, “metal” waste remains the most promising. It is the easiest to sort because it is easily recognized. The second most important place is occupied by the recycling of cardboard and paper. It is somewhat more difficult to sort and recycle plastic and plastic film. The list of popular raw materials for processing is completed by glass containers. As a rule, entrepreneurs try to adhere to a certain specialization when disposing of waste, guided by economic benefits and the availability of raw materials.

Recycling waste is one of the ways to dispose of it. The most promising and rational. Meanwhile, neutralization, burial and incineration are actively used (albeit due to savings on disposal, as well as due to the waste itself).

All waste is divided into 5 hazard classes. Class 1 is the most harmful. To obtain the right to work with waste, you must obtain a license. The main classical methods of waste disposal are incineration and burial. We separately highlight recycling as the most interesting and promising way of waste disposal.

Disposal of household waste - methods

Recycling

Recycling is a developing and most promising method of recycling both industrial and household waste. Hundreds of types of waste are processed. Eg:

• , then in special reactors at a temperature of 4500 C they produce rubber coatings, decorative mulch, etc. and into fuel.
• — mostly mercury-containing lamps are used, so they require special processing.
• : in hydrothinners they are dissolved into fibers and purified from impurities by filtration, sedimentation, and thermomechanical treatment. Then discoloration occurs and paper pulp forms. Cardboard, toilet paper, etc. are made by recycling. A separate procedure is provided for.
• (motor, hydraulic, compression, etc.) - cleaned and regenerated using industrial plants. It is possible to obtain both oil and diesel fuel. However, +.
• collected, sorted (large parts and pressed) and, by remelting, put back into production.
• : First the housing is cut, then the electrolyte is drained. By melting, metal and plastic are separated, with further use of the components.
• , — are processed into granules, which are used in further production (,).

Work in a plastic processing workshop. Manual sorting is underway: mountains of plastic bottles have been brought in and sorters manually divide them and remove the caps.

• sort and separate parts containing precious metals. metals, plastic, metal. . Special attention is paid.
• disassemble and sort parts according to materials.
• processed into or into .
• disassembled into components, each of which has its own prospects for further application.
• require special care due to their toxicity.
• crushed and melted down.
• processed into solid mass.
• can be used as fuel (after processing and only in some cases, since the material is very toxic).

Waste disposal equipment

Disposal of waste that cannot be recycled and further used occurs in various ways.

Waste incineration equipment

Combustion is carried out in special furnaces, which come in several types.

Solid waste installations are used to burn municipal solid waste, and recovery boilers are used for agricultural waste, for example, sunflower seed husks.

In medicine, a small device is used - a needle burner. It is used to ensure that used syringes are not reused. This burner operates from an electrical network and burns the needle in 2-3 seconds.

Recycling units are widely used in industry. These are entire complexes that destroy sludge, pulp and oil refining waste in large volumes. The heat generated during combustion is used for heating rooms and other technical needs.

Waste disposal equipment

Waste is buried in special landfills. They are located outside populated areas, in places where groundwater does not approach the surface of the earth and there are no reservoirs.

The main equipment for garbage disposal is bulldozers and compactors. This technique allows you to use space as efficiently as possible, compacting waste.

Waste that cannot be processed or disposed of in other ways is subject to burial. This can be construction waste, waste from the wood processing industry, as well as hazardous materials containing mercury, lead, sublimate and other chemicals. Radioactive substances are subject to burial at separate sites, where strict environmental safety controls are carried out.

Burial should be carried out according to a strictly defined technology, which requires special equipment. A disposal facility is a technique for transporting waste, a unit for placing it in a container, and then placing it in a pit. There is equipment for solid, liquid and dry waste.

Some chemicals must be rendered harmless before disposal. Neutralization is carried out by chemical reactions in special bunkers or thermally in heat chambers. Such chambers do not burn waste, but make it safe for humans and nature using high temperature.

Industrial Emissions Treatment

Industry processes a wide variety of raw materials in huge volumes. At the output of technological processes, not only the final product appears, but also waste - liquid, solid and gaseous.

The main requirement for technologies and equipment for waste processing is to prevent harmful substances from entering the environment in quantities above the permissible concentration. Almost all enterprises for waste treatment use complex sequential treatment methods, including mechanical, physico-chemical, electrochemical, chemical and biological components.

Cleaning of drains

Wastewater is purified from insoluble impurities by hydromechanical means - filtering, settling, trapping, straining, and processing suspended particles in centrifuges.

These processes are ensured by fairly easy-to-use equipment - settling tanks, nets, grates, sand traps, centrifuges, hydrocyclones (or sand separators). The design features of such devices are primarily related to the volume of water discharge. According to these volumes, wastewater storage tanks are designed, used to ensure a closed production cycle.

The purification of wastewater from soluble impurities is carried out by chemical methods - neutralization (for example, acids are mutually neutralized with alkalis with the formation of a solid, less dangerous precipitate), coagulation, when emulsions and dispersed substances are precipitated using salts of certain metals, oxidation using oxidizing agents - oxygen, ozone, potassium permanganate and etc. to reduce the harmfulness of substances, flocculation is the sedimentation of flakes of substances using starch.

Fine impurities and dissolved gases are removed from water by physical and chemical methods - saturation of wastewater with water, the use of absorbents, and ionization.
Wastewater may contain by-products, which are valuable raw materials for other industries. Such impurities are isolated electrochemically using electrolyzers. Also, using these methods, sea water is desalinated and radioactive water is purified.

Biological treatment is carried out using bacteria living in an oxygen or oxygen-free environment.

Atmospheric emissions cleaning

Purification of atmospheric gaseous and dust-containing industrial emissions occurs in several stages. The main components of such emissions are dust (suspended solid particles), fog (suspended particles of liquids), smoke (gases, extremely small particles of matter or condensation aerosols), mixed aerosols (consisting of the three previous components. Cleaning occurs sequentially - from larger particles – dust, down to the smallest – smoke.

At the first stage of cleaning, dust collectors are used; at the next stage, dry mechanical cleaning of emissions occurs in so-called cyclones or dust settling chambers. The next stage - wet mechanical cleaning - occurs in gas scrubbers of various designs operating on different absorbents. The choice of active substance depends on the properties of the extracted substance. For example, carbon dioxide is absorbed by an ammonia solution. The last stage is dry filtration. It uses fabric, biological and electrical filters. Electrostatic precipitators deposit tiny smoke particles on the electrodes due to their ionization by a corona discharge.

Solid waste treatment

Depending on the nature and physical properties of the waste being disposed of, they are burned, processed in special biogenerators through microorganisms, hydrolysis and fermentation - for example, ethanol is obtained from cellulose waste. The most effective cleaning method is pyrolysis - high-temperature decomposition of a substance into components in the absence of oxygen. For industrial pyrolysis, tubular pyrolysis reactors are used.

Emission recovery

An important aspect of waste treatment, often used on an industrial scale, is recovery, that is, the inclusion of production waste in a closed production cycle after appropriate cleaning. The design of recovery plants varies significantly depending on the industry sector.

Food waste inevitably appears in the household and usually ends up in a landfill. After all, few people think about the fact that they can be recycled and how they can dispose of waste at home. In particular, you can turn spoiled food or its remains into fertilizer or into healthy animal feed.

Knowing how to properly recycle leftover food can save you money and have less of a negative impact on the environment.

The problem of food waste disposal

The population of the Earth is constantly increasing, and therefore the amount of food is increasing, and with it the amount of garbage thrown away.

Garbage of organic origin quickly decomposes, turning into a good environment for the emergence and reproduction of harmful microbes, as well as larger living organisms: insects and rodents.

This type of waste is not dangerous in itself. But if too much accumulates, it begins to rot. This may lead to the development of an infection.

Methods for recycling food waste

Recycling waste at home can be done in many ways. The more of them involved, the more effective this effort will be in saving money and protecting the environment.

One of the ways to positively influence the environment is not even by recycling garbage in a private home, but by reducing its amount. Usually food is bought and brought home in a plastic container and a plastic bag, which in itself is already garbage. Such actions are not justified, not only from an environmental point of view, but also from an economic one. After all, a plastic bag is, at best, disposable (although often it may not be enough even for one time). Therefore, for each new portion of products purchased in the store, if not every day, then every other day, you have to purchase a new package. It is much more practical to purchase a fabric bag once and constantly bring groceries in it.

And if you don’t even have a bag at hand when you need to go to the store urgently, you can buy a paper bag.

And as for the plastic containers in which food is usually sold, you can also reduce their number by always trying to purchase food with the least amount of packaging.

One of the most profitable and most effective options for getting rid of unnecessary food scraps is recycling food waste into fertilizers. And the fastest way is composting with the help of worms.

To do this, you first need to find a box that will be used as a home for the worms. Here they will process substances. You can buy such a box at a farm store. But it’s more profitable to make it yourself from wood, rubber, zinc. Plastic buckets can also serve as boxes.

It is important to ensure that a large amount of air enters the worms' home. To do this, the box must be equipped with large diameter holes.

The soil must be laid so that the thickness of its layer does not exceed 60 cm. For each square meter of area, 0.5 kg of worms is required.

The box must have a lid and be located in a cool place where there is not a lot of light.

As for the worms themselves, most often they choose one of two species: Eisenia fetida or Eisenia hortensis. They eat a lot, quickly increase their numbers and even destroy paper products.

The smaller the garbage, the faster the worms will turn it into compost and the more efficient it will be to process food waste at home.

The composting toilet is equipped with a special tank into which food waste is placed. This technique is best used on a personal plot. These toilets are cleaned once a year. Some models run on electricity.

Let's list the most common operating principles.

1. Separation of waste into solid and liquid.

2. Peat toilets, in which waste is filled with granules, which prevents the spread of odor.

3. Toilets with a powerful filter, in which unnecessary substances are burned either directly on the fire or through a filament.

4. Freezing, protecting against unpleasant odors.

For those who want to process leftover food, special composters are developed and produced. They can be used at home by installing them directly in the kitchen. They will constantly eliminate waste, turning it into fertilizers useful for cultivated plants. The operating principle of many of these devices is based on the use of the same worms. Such devices are called vermicomposters (here there is a connection with the English word “worm”).

And there are also models that run on electricity. There is no need to put worms in them. They are more convenient to use, but also more expensive.

And some composter models work thanks to fermented bokashi microorganisms, which are grown on wheat bran.

Recycling waste in a private home is no less important than in the city. However, residents of rural areas have some advantages, since they can use special technology to turn garbage into food for animals, such as pigs or cows.

Processing waste into food for livestock is no longer a new technology. It began to be successfully practiced back in the 20th century, when they began to actively produce compound feed from bone meal. The process begins by turning the waste into granules. Then they are kept for a long time in containers from which all the air has previously been pumped out. This food has only one significant drawback - it is poorly digestible.

Thanks to modern technologies, it is possible to process spoiled food into high-quality feed. The waste is exposed to intense pressure and high temperature, which leads to the destruction of harmful microbes. The result is food containing sufficient amounts of protein and fat.

Various organic waste

Food waste comes in several main types. Let's list them.

1. Appearing during the production of products;

2. Coming from public catering establishments;

3. Food products whose expiration date has expired;

4. Defective products that have spoiled as a result of damage to the container in which they were stored or transported.

The waste that appears in our homes every day belongs to categories 3 and 4.

There are also 5 classes of waste, each of which has its own level of danger. The most dangerous is 1st class. And class 5 products are completely harmless. Food waste is in the 4th and 5th classes. The recovery period for class 4 waste is 3 years.

What waste can be recycled at home?

Many organic matter can be recycled through composting. Almost any plant waste can be used to turn into fertilizers. Composting is not only suitable for animal products and oils. Also, under no circumstances should you make compost from diseased plants, cigarettes, or paper. Only organic matter can be used for composting.

Recycling waste at home is one of the most important points for those who love and care about nature. There are always many items in our homes that can be reused or recycled. And if you ignore the fact that food manufacturers are calling for single-use packaging, then you can look at new items with a completely different perspective. Almost any old used item can be turned back into some useful item: either use it in some other way, or recycle it yourself.

For example, an item that ends up in the trash can as soon as it was purchased - a plastic bottle can be found in many worthy uses. However, when recycling a plastic bottle, you need to remember that when exposed to high temperatures, it begins to release toxic substances.

The same goes for plastic bags. You can make many beautiful products from them. It is also not recommended to burn them.

From wooden bottle caps you can make a stand for hot dishes, small floor mats and many other useful and beautiful products.

Recycling your own waste

The majority of bags thrown into trash bins each day are organic matter. And knowing how to recycle garbage at home, you can turn it into compost and do two useful things at the same time. Firstly, nature will be less polluted. And, secondly, a certain amount of fertilizer will appear, which can then be taken to a country plot or simply poured into a pot with a houseplant standing on the windowsill.

Recycling industrial waste and solid waste is important to reduce environmental pollution. Waste recycling is the reuse of industrial or household waste.

Danger to humans

Collection and disposal of waste is a necessary measure to protect nature and humanity from destruction. Paper, plastic, cardboard, glass, fabrics, and iron are used for recycling. Garbage has a negative impact on health. It provokes the following moments:

• genetic changes;
• spread of infections;
• respiratory diseases;
• change in reproductive function;
• oncology.

In nature, there is a change in climate, a decrease in the circulation of substances, and a disruption in life support at the global, regional and local levels.

The purpose of recycling and neutralizing waste is to obtain energy, secondary raw materials, and ensure safety for the environment.

Waste classification

Waste is divided into three main types: household, industrial, construction. Before destruction or processing, they are sorted and classified according to hazard class.

The method of further disposal or processing of waste depends on it.

In total, there are five hazard classes in Russia:

1. Extremely dangerous. Can cause irreparable damage to the environment.
2. Highly dangerous. It takes at least 30 years to recover the consequences.
3. Moderately dangerous. The adverse impact on the ecological environment lasts 10 years.
4. Low risk. Once the source of contamination is eliminated, restoration will take approximately three years.
5. Non-hazardous. They have almost no effect on the ecological system.

The method of disposal depends on the definition of the class of waste: some are burned, others can be buried in a landfill, others are recycled, and for others, recycling is possible.

Garbage disposal options

A huge amount of waste appears as a result of human activity and production processes. Sources of waste generation: residential buildings, hospitals, educational institutions, catering companies, prisons, shops, public utilities, water supply, industrial enterprises.

Waste disposal is carried out in several ways:

• burning;
• composting;
• burial;
• pyrolysis

What type of waste disposal is the most effective has not yet been clarified.

Burning

One of the most common and reliable methods. It is used for objects in liquid, solid and gaseous states. Among the advantages are the production of thermal energy, a reduction in the amount of waste by at least 10 times, and a reduced risk of contamination of groundwater and soil.

Disadvantages: danger of air pollution from fly ash, heavy metals, sulfur and nitrogen oxides. To avoid this, special equipment is used. It allows the use of combustion energy and opens up new possibilities for obtaining it for production.

Composting

Natural decomposition of solid waste. As a result of the process, compost is obtained, which is effectively used in agriculture. In Russia, the recycling method is not widespread.

Burial

Industrial waste that cannot be reused is stored in special landfills and landfills. Collection, processing and storage of radioactive waste is a big problem for any state.

They are stored in burial grounds, which should be located as far as possible from groundwater, in seismically safe areas.

The process is the decomposition of solid waste without air access. The trash heats up and breaks down into substances with lower molecular weight. Pyrolysis has more advantages than combustion: the environment is not polluted, heavy metals are converted into ash, and waste residues do not contain toxic substances.

All terms help to understand the waste recycling process.

After destruction, waste completely disappears; after disposal, it can be recycled into something else or stored in the ground. Such concepts must be distinguished.

In Russia, only a few types are widely used: burning, burial.

Secondary processing

The use of production waste implies their destruction or recycling. They are used to make items that are useful. This type of waste is different from household waste, so proper disposal is important.

Industrial waste recycling is carried out using several methods:

• mechanical (separation and grinding);
• thermal (conversion of garbage into fuel);
• hydrodynamic (contains several methods);
• chemical (changes the properties of a substance);
• biochemical (use as secondary raw materials).

The listed processes make it possible to obtain new products from waste materials that are useful for human life.

Garbage disposal is aimed at preserving non-renewable natural resources, human health, and improving the environment.