How we deal with our waste in the UK
Unless you work in the industry or take an active interest in the environmental side of things, you might not know what happens to waste here in the UK once it leaves our houses. In actual fact, the process is much more complex than you might have thought and it all goes through a number of steps before it reaches its final end.
Of course, the entire process starts in your kitchen, when you decide whether to separate your waste and put it into the recycling, or chuck it straight into the bin.
If you choose the former, it might be picked up from your home or maybe you have to take it to a drop off point, either way, from here it will be collected and taken to a biological centre, where it will be separated and cleaned. From here, the process will depend on what it is that needs to be recycled. Glass might be reused in its current form, or it could be melted down and reformed into something else. Whereas aluminium will have any covering paper or dyes removed, before it is then melted down, then reformed into big blocks. Whatever the material, once it has either been melted down and reformed or thoroughly cleaned for reuse, it can then be shipped off for reselling, either to manufacturers who can make something out of the basic fabrics, or to companies and factories who can repurpose the reused product. Obviously, this is a simplification of a lengthy process, but it covers the basics.
When your old rubbish destined for the landfill leaves your home, it too starts life in the same place as the recycling, which is at a biological centre. Here, the rubbish bags will be shredded and the waste will be dried out. Anything that can be recycled or composted will be taken out and hot air is passed over the remaining waste to help any biodegradable items decompose. The remaining waste can then be taken to either an incinerator or the landfill.
In the UK, most of our waste ends up in the landfill. Here it is put into the ground and covered over at the end of each day to ensure it isn’t exposed. Landfills are also lined to help protect the surrounding environment from the effect of the waste that is being put into it. However, even though this system was originally implemented as a cheap way to dispose of rubbish, there are now complications involved with it. Not least of which, that we’re currently running out of the space available for new landfills. So right now, there is an impetus on finding new alternative methods for waste disposal that will help solve the problem and still be environmentally and economically sound.
One of the possible alternatives would be incinerating our waste in order to extract energy from it. Unlike traditional incineration plants, these new plants needed for the process are not only much more efficient at reducing the garbage, but they also allow for energy to be extracted, either as electricity, heat or combustible fuels. They are also much more environmentally sound, as there are strictures in place to ensure they don’t release as many harmful gases and ash into the environment as traditional plants. Although there is still some debate surrounding the topic of whether these should be implemented in the UK, they are a viable final alternative for our old waste instead of landfills.
But even with all these different paths and variables that our waste can take, they all have one thing in common and that is that every one of the different possible processes involves wire. More specifically, galvanised formers. Galvanised wire is an essential part of waste disposal and recycling and without it, we wouldn’t have the modern system we have today. Galvanised wire is a form of metal wire, usually iron or steel, that has been dipped into a molten solution of zinc. This zinc then acts as a protective layer against any corrosive forces that might otherwise have impacted on the metal underneath. Formers are simply big coils of this wire. Whatever the stage in the process and whether it’s waste off to the landfill or aluminium to be recycled, at various points, these materials are going to need to be handled, transported and probably stored. Imagine trying to do this if the rubbish was left uncollected in mountains or the recycled materials were left loose. Suddenly, the task would be huge and the entire system would involve a tremendous amount of time and manpower. So, it’s necessary to bundle all the waste together, in its separated forms, and keep them tied up in bundles. These bales of materials can then be stored easily, handled and transported, which is far more efficient and makes the entire system possible. Without the galvanised formers to provide this basic function, the entire system would soon collapse.
The galvanised wire also helps when the waste goes into the landfill. When it is all tied up in its blocks of waste, the mass of the garbage is compressed and reduced, which means it takes up less space in the ground. This helps make this final part of the process more efficient as well and ultimately helps conserve space in the landfill, so more waste can eventually be put in there. As it is all tied up with wire, it also means that individual pieces of rubbish can’t escape from their parcels into the ground, which makes it that much more environmentally sound too.
The process of how we deal with our waste is actually very complicated and far more involved than simply shipping it from our homes to the landfill. And of course, the way it currently runs is down in part to the galvanised formers that make it all possible. Without that to help aid the process and make it more efficient, we might not have the same refuge system that we currently have.
If you wish to find out more about waste management and galvanised wire please see http://www.drbalingwire.co.uk/








