You still have to clean up after yourself: common examples

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The problem of waste recycling has not been fundamentally resolved in any way. In the best case, a small part of the garbage is burned in special "factories", and the bulk - millions of tons per day - accumulates in landfills, poisoning the earth, water and air. But mass character is not a reason to disclaim responsibility …

How a 13-year-old boy runs a plastic waste recycling company for 5 years

This is Vanis, he lives in California. At the age of 7, in a lesson dedicated to Earth Day, he heard about the problem of garbage and the importance of recycling. Since then he has been sorting waste and became the youngest founder of a waste recycling company. If we collect in one place all the plastic bottles that he managed to collect and recycle on his own over the past 3 years, then it will take the area of 119 football fields.

Vanis Buckholz is considered the youngest eco-entrepreneur. For 5 years of activity, his company "My ReCycler" has processed more than 3.5 tons of garbage.

“The idea behind the name for my business came from cycling. Riding my bike around the outskirts of my city, I pick up garbage on the beach, streets and parks, then I take it home to recycle,”says Vanis. "My mom and dad taught me never to litter, so picking up was something we always did, only now it has become part of the business."

How it all began

First, in the courtyard of the house of Vanis and his family, separate collection bins were installed, where Vanis's friends and neighbors brought garbage. Every few weeks the garbage was taken away by a truck for recycling. For a shipment of garbage, the Vanis family received $ 100-200.

After 3 years, Vanis had a whole team of activists who collected waste in all areas in containers attached to bicycles. Currently, his trips to the recycling center are driven by trucks.

Vanis gives 25% of the money received to the Project Hope organization, which helps homeless children.

“It's so easy not to do anything. But it's so great when you do something! I always say to my new clients "The chicken is pecking by the grain". Even one bottle is good. I love my job. I was very lucky as a child, but there are many children who are not as lucky as me. " Vanis Bakholz

On the Facebook page of his company, you can see the entire amazing history of Vanis's work for all this time.

See also: Pacific Garbage Island

Bicycle machines that can squeeze juices and wash clothes without electricity

Cheap, eco-friendly home appliances made from discarded bicycle parts have become very popular in rural Central America. By turning the pedals, blenders, washing machines, threshers, water pumps, corn cleaners and many other operations are put into operation. A great alternative to the tedious work that is usually done by hand.

All Bicimaquinas bicycles are designed from simple bicycle materials, concrete or cement, wood and metal. Their models are usually functional and economical. Priced at around $ 40 apiece, the machines come in several flavors for a variety of purposes.

Bicycle Building Guides

Bicimolino - maize cleaning bike

A handy device for a small family farm. Such a mill can grind up to 1.5 kilograms of corn per minute. It can save you a lot of time and money during the harvest, when you need to quickly collect and process the crop.

Assembly instruction www.mayapedal.org/corn_mill.pdf

Bicilicuadora - bike blender

The power of this installation is 6400 rpm. Thus, you can quickly blender fruits, vegetables … Facilitate household work without electricity.

Assembly instructions

Bicibomba - bicycle pump for water

This device is capable of pumping from 5 to 10 liters of water per minute in wells up to 30 m deep (electric submersible pumps only reach 12 m).

Assembly instruction www.mayapedal.org/bicibomba_movil.pdf

Biciclasificadora - seed sorter

This is a vibrating bike project that is capable of sifting and dehulling seeds. Ideal for preparing seed storage on a small scale.

Bicycle centrifuge for honey

Coffee bean cleaner

This bike is used to remove the shell of coffee beans and is able to process up to one centner every 15 minutes.

Bike sharpener

He is able to sharpen any tool

Cycling

It has great potential in rural areas, where clothes are still washed by hand. Assembly instructions (page 3).

Electric bike generator

This bike generator is capable of generating electricity and charging the device at 8-12 V.

Bike plow

This bike will help you loosen and cultivate the soil in a small area

Bicycle nut peeling machine

Able to peel up to 1 quintal of walnuts every 15 minutes.

Assembly instructions

The history of the creation of the Velomachin community

In 1997, the Maya Pedal project was launched in Guatemala, which soon grew into a major social movement. For 19 years of its activity, the project has developed more than 1200 bicycles for the residents of Guatemala.

Bicycle workshops have been set up in small towns and cities, with local residents and volunteers working. Regular seminars teach how to turn a bicycle into a bicycle. Bicycles come here as donations from countries around the world.

Today, groups have been created for the development and implementation of bicycles in Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and other countries. Even MTI has helped improve existing models and develop new ones.

For more information on bicycles, visit Bicimaquinas.com

RecoverGreen - collection points for packaging with the return of the security deposit

In the supermarkets of St. Petersburg, unusual collection points have appeared, where the security deposit for the package, such as a plastic bottle or a cardboard bag made of milk or juice, is returned for the returned package.

The RecoverGreen startup operates on the principle of returning the security deposit for the delivered packaging. Here they accept glass and plastic containers, as well as Tetra Pak bags for milk and juices. By handing over the used packaging, you can gain from 10 kopecks to 1 ruble apiece. In the future, the company claims that empty bags and bottles will be sent for recycling.

The collection point accepts any bottle, any shape, bought from this store or any other, and even found on the street.

Return for packaging, inscription on the supermarket price tag

“We can say without undue modesty that this is the second oil, since this material is very valuable and in demand on the market, then different producers pay accordingly for this source material and our task is to create a stable source of replenishment of these resources” Nikolay Parfenov, founder of RecoverGreen.

So in St. Petersburg, 6 points of acceptance of containers in supermarkets have already been opened, in the near future it is planned to open 15 more.

Plastic waste is crushed into small crumbs, and then turned into a viscous mixture from which later you can produce a variety of products from building materials to household goods.

There are similar machines in Finland, where people have long been accustomed to handing over containers.