Where does the cullet go. Activists suggested collecting used containers in barrels

The social activists decided to teach the residents of Rostov-on-Don not to throw away already used bottles, but to collect them in special barrels for further processing. This idea has long been in the air and, finally, was implemented in the Nikolai Ostrovsky Park of Culture and Leisure. For a month already, at the initiative of the park's management, two special iron barrels, decorated with graffiti, appeared to collect secondary raw materials - glass containers and their further processing.

For the common good

An announcement immediately appeared on social networks, addressed to park visitors, that at the entrance to the Solar Tree site, where solar panels are installed, a specialized barrel for collecting glass was installed.

“Any glass waste can be thrown into it - bottles, cans, perfume and medicine bottles. It is not necessary to wash them, as the cullet will undergo a cleaning procedure in any case. The only thing that needs to be done with the bottles before throwing them inside is to remove the metal caps and rings. We kindly ask you not to throw other objects into the glass barrel! " - says the announcement.

Why is glass waste disposal so important? This material does not decompose when buried.

“Products made from it can lie in the ground for hundreds of years in their original form. In addition, glass is fragile and its breakage poses a danger to humans, animals and plants. Recyclable glass saves natural resources. If only 10% of the battlefield is used in the production of new products, then it is possible to reduce the consumption of natural gas by 3%. And if the technology for the production of such products is completely transferred to the use of glass breakage, then the gas savings will be 30%. This is an excellent indicator that will significantly reduce the cost of the final product. Recycling glass allows us to save huge areas of land, which would turn into dangerous dumps of unprocessed waste, ”explains the leading master of green economy of the park of culture and recreation. N. Ostrovsky Vera Kishelgof, one of the initiators of the project.

When processing glass, you can save not only on natural gas, but also on materials such as limestone mixtures, soda ash, sand. The activist notes that glass is completely recyclable, so recycling is a completely wasteless process. This means that the negative impact on nature is reduced. Thus, recycling and recycling of glass waste is necessary to ensure environmental safety, preserve natural resources and reduce the cost of manufacturing glass products.

Benefit from the barrel

The Nikolai Ostrovsky Park of Culture and Leisure in Rostov-on-Don became the first object, apart from a few homeowners' associations, where the company "Ecosphere" was engaged in this good cause. By agreement, barrels for collecting glass containers were brought to the park. It was decided that after they were filled with bottles and cans, the company's specialists would take the cullet to the factories for glass processing.

Artyom Bukhtiyarov, deputy director of the Nikolai Ostrovsky Culture and Leisure Park for general issues, suggested painting barrels of graffiti and hired a Rostov artist Yevgeny Ps for this. The barrels turned out to be bright, they can be seen from afar. In addition, welders have upgraded them by attaching a door to make it easy to reach the bottles.

“So far, the special girls have rather a function of attracting attention. The main collection of glass takes place during the sorting of waste by our gardening workers. This is our first batch, we are sorting glass both by color and transparency. We are expecting the arrival of a special car, which will take away the glass for recycling, ”says Bukhtiyarov.

And on September 19, the first batch of 900 kilograms of glass was taken out for recycling. The park will receive about 2.5 thousand rubles for raw materials, which will be used for further improvement of its territory.

It is interesting that from 900 kilograms of cullet, as explained by the plenipotentiary representative of the "StekloSouz" association in the South and North Caucasian federal districts Vyacheslav Tulinov, there will be nine thousand new bottles of 0.5 liters each. One such product will use 100 grams of cullet. According to Vyacheslav Vitalievich, colored cullet is processed at one of the factories in Novocherkassk, and transparent cullet is made in Azov.

If we talk about the profitability of recyclable materials, then the situation is as follows, if one kilogram of scrap metal costs 20 rubles, cardboard - from 12 to 14 rubles, then cullet is only two rubles.

How glass is processed

Glass scrap can be recycled an unlimited number of times. All glass secondary products can be conditionally sorted into several categories. The first is an integral container. This includes any empty glass bottle or jar that is considered waste of this material.

Then comes a sorted fight. This group includes broken container glass, sorted by color. It can also include other combat, such as window or aquarium glass. But mixed waste of container packaging is united by mixed glass scrap from multi-colored bottles. There is also a scrap of special glass. A class that includes broken optical or other specialized glass, such as broken lamps, cathode ray tubes, and so on. And also lumpy multi-colored glass, a decorative insert in stained-glass windows, as well as stony and lumpy glass.

But at the same time, not every glass fight will be accepted from you. So, for example, toughened broken glass is not accepted. The restrictions on its acceptance are related to the difficulty of processing this material. It is almost impossible to surrender broken mirrors and other glass waste with foreign inclusions. Naturally, paper labels are not considered a third-party element. Broken glass can only be delivered dry.

Garbage second life

An ecological stand has been installed in the park next to the Solar Tree, on the leaves of which the solar panels feeding the clock are placed. It shows the types of waste that a person produces, their impact on nature, and the time of decomposition. In addition, the stand displays a map of the nearest collection points for recyclable materials, batteries, and clothing. There is information about how plastic is indicated directly on products and how long it takes to decompose in nature. Another curious line: is each specific type of plastic recycled in the Russian Federation? References to ecological communities of Rostov are given. The author of the project is Kirill Rybnikov from Rostov, the constructor and designer is Valentin Khloponin. According to Kirill Rybnikov, it took eight months to approve and place the stand.

Rybnikov brought the idea of eco-stands from Georgia and decided to finalize the project and do something similar in Rostov. He shared his plans with friends in social networks. So he had like-minded people. As it turned out, the problem with the stand placement was the most difficult to solve. But this obstacle was also overcome. As a result, a useful novelty appeared in the park of culture and recreation. N. Ostrovsky.

The first stand was installed in November 2019. The result of more than six months of work by a group of eco-activists was spoiled by vandals a week after the stand appeared. But this did not stop the initiator of the project, and the next version of the stand became vandal-proof.

“This is our country, and we will not have another country. We are responsible for what will remain for our children ”- such a stand protected from hooligans appeared in the same place exactly one year later. Today, everyone who comes to the stand can be convinced that many things sent to the trash can get a second life and do not pollute the environment: plastic bottles, disposable dishes, plastic bags, lids, corks. More than 60 million tons of solid municipal waste are generated in Russia annually.

Debris samples are placed in small wooden boxes with transparent edges. Below the boxes is information about how long these materials decompose, what harm they cause and what they can turn into after processing (for example, plastic bottles - into clothes). Also posted on the stand are photographs of animals affected by the debris.

According to Kirill Rybnikov, about 20 similar stands have already been installed throughout the country. Not only in Rostov, but also in Novosibirsk and Arkhangelsk regions. A similar innovation is planned to be placed in Irkutsk. 155 people from different cities have already received in electronic form layouts and technical specifications for the production of an ecological stand.

Only by joint efforts, activists believe, can we help the country not to drown in garbage.

by the way

Polyethylene terephthalate (plastic bottles for drinks and oils, polyester fabric, etc.) decomposes after 400 years and is partially recycled in the Russian Federation. But polystyrene, which is used for the production of disposable tableware, flower pots, polystyrene, etc., decomposes for 300 years, and there are no conditions for its processing in Russia.

Source: https://rostov.aif.ru/