"You ‘claim’ you help the
planet, how have you really done that?"
Well, I have done and
DO it on a daily basis in many ways. I use Compact Fluorescent light
bulbs in most light fixtures. I keep my house temperature set at the
Federally recommended 68° Farenheight. I keep my Television, DVD Player
and VCR on a power strip and turned off when not in use. I keep my
Stereo equipment on a power strip and turned off when not in use.
When driving, I
accelerate slowly and don't make sudden stops. I have swapped out my
old power hogging CRT monitor for a low energy LCD one. When I recycle
and scrap out computer and electronic items, those items that don't get
sold here or on eBay, end up being actually recycled by an approved
recycling facility. You can see the results of those efforts below.
The best part is that not only did I make money from the recycling I
even paid taxes on it.
Type | Grade | Total to Date | Examples |
Steel | Baling Tin | 189,997 Lbs. | Computer Cases, Appliances, Misc Hardware, basically things made of Steel. |
Steel | Stainless | 2,102 Lbs. | Screws, Gears, used to minimize presense of magnetic fields. |
Copper | Number 1 | 375 Lbs. | Thick copper, like household wiring, not smaller than 16 gauge. |
Copper | #1 Insulated | 345 Lbs. | As above but with insulation still on the wire. |
Copper | Number 2 | 573 Lbs. | Thin or stranded copper, 17 gauge and smaller. |
Copper | #2 Insulated | 19,269 Lbs. | As above but with insulation still on the wire. |
Copper | Sheet | 98 Lbs. | Often used as grounding plates and EMI shielding. |
Copper | Content | 21,614 Lbs. | Transformers, Motors, Generators |
Brass | Yellow | 1,311 Lbs. | Plumbing fixtures, bushings, locks and some door handles |
Brass | Radiators | 16 Lbs. | Radiators, like in your car, and some cooling units. |
Brass | Scrap | 60 Lbs. | Small screws, nuts, bolts, power cord ends. |
Aluminum | Sheet | 6,474 Lbs. | Cases, back panels, Circuit Card mounting plates. |
Aluminum | Extruded | 6,075 Lbs. | Formed, tubes, mounting rails, commercial windows and door frames. |
Aluminum | 5086 | 250 Lbs. | Formed, spacer rings, hard drive platters |
Aluminum | 6061 | 375 Lbs. | Usually anodized solid aluminum blocks, black, green etc. |
Aluminum | Clips | 192 Lbs. | Small pieces and scraps of generic aluminum. |
Aluminum | Cast | 6,117 Lbs. | Aluminum poured into molds, motor casings, HDD chassis etc. |
Aluminum | Painted | 94 Lbs. | Sheet or Extruded aluminum with paint on it. |
Aluminum | Breakage | 3,372 Lbs. | Small motors, usually Cast Aluminum with other metals present. |
Aluminum | Cans | 582 Lbs. | Aluminum Cans, like Coke, Pepsi, Budweiser etc. |
Gold | Computer Boards | 21,020 Lbs. | Printed Circuit boards, such as mother boards. |
Gold | C. Boards High Dens. | 203 Lbs. | Printed Circuit boards, such as mother boards with high gold content. |
Gold | C. Boards Low Dens. | 441 Lbs. | Printed Circuit boards, such as mother boards with low gold content. |
Gold | Bios Chips | 26 Lbs. | CMOS and other Ceramic Chips with gold leads (internal and external). |
Gold | Cable Ends | 1741 Lbs. | Computer Cable ends, such as printer, serial, usb and others with gold pins. |
Gold | Fingers | 22 Lbs. | Computer board edge connectors, usually flat gold plated. |
Batteries | Lead Acid | 7,344 Lbs. | Sealed Lead Acid Batteries, like in your UPS or Battery Backup Unit. |
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Total | Pounds | 290,343 Lbs. | Total weight kept from landfills, in pounds. |
Total | Tons | 145.17 Dwt. | Total weight kept from landfills, in Tons (deadweight). |
Total | F-150s | 58.06 Trk. | Equivalent weight in Ford F-150 Pickup Trucks (mine weighs 5,000 Lbs.). |