The WEEE Directive came into existence in twenty twelve, when the EU Parliament voted and accepted the program for Recast of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The program was a European-wide initiative to reclaim as much use as possible from waste electrical and electronic appliances and devices. This made perfect sense because such items are not only considered hazardous waste, but they also contain a certain amount of high value materials like precious metals for instance.
The UK also ratified and accepted the WEEE Directive and even voted on it to become a domestic law. The WEEE law has been in effect since late twenty twelve. The UK government predicts and estimates that by the two thousand twenty, Great Britain will dispose of about twelve thousand tonnes of scrapped electronics and electric devices. The estimated value of useful materials and precious metals in these twelve thousand tonnes is over one billion pounds – a substantial sum of money indeed.
In its essence, the WEEE Directive aims to maximise the recycling, reuse and recovery of secondary (valuable) materials from scrapped electric and electronic equipment. The Directive although well intent, raises the bar quite high in terms of recycling rates and targets to be met. The interim requirements alone set a target of minimum of forty five percent any device’s weight to be recycled or reused. The requirement figures grow substantially throughout the duration of the Directive – which makes everything all the more challenging.
Diverting millions of pounds worth of precious metals from ending up in landfills is the main priority of the UK government’s Resource Security Action Plan. The program also educates about responsible disposal of electronics and electric equipment – another issue that needed addressing in the UK.
Whether the WEEE Directive goals and targets are too high or not remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – without the right technology, these figures are simply unachievable for any country. New technology is available to WEEE recycling companies and many of them are taking full advantage of it as the prospect of salvaging millions of pounds worth of precious metals from the electronic waste stream is too lucrative to pass. On the same note, WEEE Directive waste is also considered hazardous and must be disposed of properly. If your household or business requires removal of hazardous waste, by all means a specialised rubbish removal service as hazardous waste is subject to specific removal and disposal regulations.
Although technology is available, WEEE waste processors are still struggling to remove unwanted pollutants from useful materials in the electronic waste stream. Recovering profitable components at high purity levels is a process still in development. At the moment, in many locations recycling of WEEE waste and salvaging materials of value is still done the traditional way. Electronic waste is collected, then delivered at the processing plant where it is sorted and dismantled manually by people. Then the waste is shredded in special machines and then smelted for recovery of materials. Individual fractions are removed from the residue at different stages using chemical and mechanical methods.
There is literally an innumerable amount of home improvements which you can do to augment the appearance and mood of your home. Here are several cheap and yet efficient home improvement project which you can execute on your own.
- Open shelving – You don’t need to spend vast amounts of money to replace your kitchen cabinetry with open shelves. Instead simply remove the doors of the cabinets and paint the interior of the cabinets in a colour that matches the walls of your kitchen. By doing so you will not only save yourself a lot of money but you will also augment drastically the storage capacity of your kitchen. Last but not least you will create the illusion that you kitchen is much bigger than it actually is, as open shelves tend to open-up space.
Create cubbies – Cubbies are becoming more and more popular but still tend to be quite expensive. However you can create your own cubbies by purchasing a second-hand bookcase and installing vertical divides on the shelves. Once done paint the furniture in a colour that will easily match the colour scheme of your home and voila you will have your own cubbies in which you can store your books, magazines, CDs, DVDs and so on.- Install a new doorbell – Many people tend to underestimate the influence that a doorbell has on a household. The doorbell is the feature of your home that people use to check whether you are at home. So don’t hesitate to replace your current old-fashioned doorbell with a lighted doorbell. This way your guests will be able to find the button more easily in the day and you will add to the outside of your house a supplementary illumination source.
- Use your door frames – You can use the top side of your door frames to display various conversation pieces. Simply flank the upper-side of the frame with two wooden corbels and place a shelf on them. Paint the corbels and shelf in the same colour of the frame and start arranging your prized possessions on your new built shelves.
- Plant flowers – Lush green lawns are great, but lawns that are covered with small colourful flowers are better. If you are not into gardening have no worries because there are numerous species of flowers that don’t require much care and are very easy to plant.
- Paint your entrance door – Choose a vibrant colour such as red, yellow, orange and etc, for a more welcoming entry. Also by doing so your door will instantly become the most recognisable entrance door of the neighbourhood.
When you are done with one or all of these home improvement projects, call a waste collection company to come and clear the accumulated junk. Know that rubbish removal services are highly affordable services, so have no worries that you may have to break bank in order to use the assistance of professionals.
Once the waste has been removed, walk around your home in order to feel the new ambiance of your household.
You don’t need a lot of money to decorate your home in a manner that will leave speechless your guests. Here are some inexpensive home decoration ideas which you can implement in your household.
Go to a salvage year and purchase a pair of Victorian era carved corbels. Look for corbels that have a distinguishable patina that will give to your home a more rustic ambiance. Once you have bought the carved corbels, return to your home and mount them understand the countertop of your kitchen island or bar.
Instead of planting the common bushes and flowers that people sow in their backyard, opt to plant evergreen trees. The Arborvitae “Green Giant” is a great choice, as it tend to grow quickly (3 feet just in the first year) and if you plant the trees on the northern side of your backyard the trees will stop the winter winds from reaching your home, which will automatically allow you to have a warmer household during the coldest months of the year. You can also plant one tree in the middle of your yard and use it as a Christmas three during the holidays.
The laundry room is perhaps the most boring room in any household. So why don’t you decorate it in a way that will make it more fun. For example instead of using a dull lighting fixture to illuminate the room, hang a chandelier from the ceiling. The chandelier will give a more sophisticated and playful touch to the room and will certainly surprise your guests as nobody would expect to see a chandelier in the laundry room.
Use the upper sections of your kitchen walls by installing hooks. This way you will not only be able to augment the storage capacity of the kitchen and keep everything at an arm’s lengths but you will also instantly make the entire room appear more modern and functional. Note that you can also hang hooks in your hallway to increase that amount of coats that you can hang in the corridor.
Create an edge in the inside of your kitchen sink and then cut a piece of wood to place over the sink as a cover. This way you will have a two-in-one feature in your kitchen as you will be able to use the wooden piece as a butcher block while you are not using the sink to wash the dishes. This will also ease the cleaning as you will be able to dump all the food residue directly into your garbage disposal unit and wash the block as soon as you are done using it, which will limit the emission of unpleasant odors.
Once you are done decorating your home, contact and hire a professional waste disposal company to remove the rubbish that have been created during the process. Don’t try to clear the waste on your own as it is a time and energy consuming task and you will be too tired to handle it properly. You can easily find high quality and affordable waste disposal services.
As soon as the rubbish has been cleared, you can sit back and enjoy the new ambiance within your home.
The workbench is the most important of the garage. Without it you would be able to work on your projects. This is why we will turn to your attention towards a tutorial that will allow you to build your own floating workbench.
Start by mounting horizontally on one of your garage walls a 38×89 mm long wooden plank. Then mount another plank underneath. Make sure that you leave a gap between the two planks that is at least as big as the steel shelf brackets that you will use for your project.
Now grab the steel shelf brackets and affix them to the two wooden planks. Note that the heavier the brackets are the better as they would be able to withstand the weight of heavy items more easily and more important will make your floating workbench more stable.
Next get a large piece of plywood that is at least 2 centimeters thick and cut it into two pieces that are 60 centimeters wide and 1.5 meters long. Place one of the pieces of the brackets and bolt it in place. Then place the second piece next to the first one and once again affix it in place. Last cut a piece that of 15 cm by 45 cm and mount it underneath the area where the two large piece of plywood meet.
Grab another wooden plank that is 38×89 mm long and place horizontally atop the pieces of plywood. Attach the plank to the wall just like you did with the previous ones. Now cut into the sheet of plywood a piece that is as long as your workbench’s shelf, 2 cm wide and 4 cm high and glue it or screw it onto the shelf.
If you wish you can attach a drawer to the underside of the shelf. Simple grab a wooden plank and cut it into two pieces that are 19x89mm. Mount on each piece a drawer slide and glue or screw the pieces to the underside of the shelf. Then build your own drawer that has the dimension of the space that you have chosen to place the drawer and mount to its side the slides. Place the drawer in place and voila you will have a space where you can keep your small tools.
End the project by mounting a tool pockets on the wall that is above the floating workbench. This way you will be able to keep all your tools at an arm’s length.
The last thing that you must do before you call it a day is to contact a rubbish removal company and have it come and clear the generated waste. Don’t try removing the junk on your own because for one you will be too tired to collect the waste properly and two some types of rubbish such as timber waste is best to be collected by professionals that provide rubbish removal services.
Once the junk as been cleared and you have arrange all your tools near your workbench you can start planning and executing your first project.
Growing colourful flowers isn’t the only way by which you can add a colourful and playful ambience to your backyard. You can also use old items which you can picked up from yard sales, flea markets and salvation depots to achieve your goal of creating a fun garden in which you and your family can rest and relax.
Hold top-heavy flowers such as zinnias upright by placing a stripped old metal patio furniture or a wire basket with large mesh over them. The zigzagging springs of the furniture or wire of the basket will allow the flowers to grow upright without the risk of breaking as it will provide the necessary support. If you wish to add colour to your backyard you can paint the patio furnishing or basket in a bright vibrant colour.
Instead of arranging your potted plants, flower and herbs in one corner of your backyard why don’t you arrange them on a wagon or wheelbarrow? This way you can easily move them around your garden and always leave them at the right spot to catch as much sunlight as possible. The presence of the wheelbarrow or wagon in your yard will give to the entire area a more rustic feeling.
Create a boundary between your different types of flowers and plants by placing a rusty iron fence between the sections. The presence of the rusty fence will give a vintage touch to your garden. If you don’t have pieces of an iron fence you can also use fragments of an old stone cornice. Know that you can get both features from a construction salvage yard in your area.
Do you like having birds in your backyard? If so, then hand several old oilcans on the trees of your garden. The spout of the cans will be the ideal perches for the birds to land on while the cans will provide comfortable shelter. You can also build your own birdbath by placing a salvaged pedestal sink in an area of your garden and filling it with water.
You can use old metal funnel to hang your flowers. The funnels have their own drainage system and are light enough to be easily hanged with the aid of twine. To add colour to your garden you can paint the funnels in different bright colours.
You can highlight your more prized flower or plant by planting it into an old chimney. Everybody would notice a large old chimney in the middle or one corner of your yard and will immediately ask you want you have planted there.
Once you are done landscaping your garden, call professional waste clearers to removal the garden waste that has been accumulate throughout the process. You can easily find top quality waste removal services. Also don’t worry about the removal fees as most professional junk collection companies work with prices that are fair to both parties.
When the waste has been removed, arrange your garden furnishings in such manner that will allow you to enjoy your amazing and colourful garden in full.
Most landfills around the world have a sixty percent statistical chance of catching fire, by default. At the same time, landfills are getting larger thus contain vast amounts of waste which makes the risk of fire even greater. The cost of preventing landfill fires is much less than the cost of having to extinguish these fires so it makes sense for landfill operators to make such sites less of a fire hazard. In the event of a landfill fire, site operators need to apply immediate and decisive actions in order to contain the fire before it becomes a full flared environmental disaster.
One of the biggest problems with landfill fires is their toxicity. The waste material contained in landfills includes a vast variety of chemicals and substances which can poison air, water and soil when burning. The longer a landfill fire burns the more difficult it becomes to put out. Certain types of landfill fires can burn for long periods of time, emitting large amounts of toxic fumes and causing irreversible environmental damage. In twenty twelve, there was an unfortunate example of how landfill fires affect humans and the environment – a large amount of food stuffs were contaminated with Dioxin (a poisonous chemical) after a landfill fire broke out in Palermo, Italy.
Commercial properties generating waste on a regular basis, need to address the issue seriously as to reduce risk of fires on the premises. There are many specialised waste removal companies which deal with specific types of rubbish generated by businesses. Industrial rubbish removal needs to be done on a regular basis, in many cases this is also a government imposed requirement for operating the business. Depending on the type of waste that needs to be removed and disposed of, businesses might have to contact local authorities as well as a specialised rubbish removal service provider.
Generally, there are two types of landfill fires – surface fires and underground fires. Surface fires although easier to detect break out rather unexpectedly despite sufficient planning and management of the site. Surface fires can be triggered by a whole host of causes, ranging from natural phenomena like lightning to falling of a hot cartridge expelled from the cannon of an Apache assault helicopter conducting exercises above the landfill (which was the case with a recent landfill fire in the Middle East). Quick reaction is crucial for containing a surface landfill fire. However site operators need to have a pre-made plan for such cases as every bit of delay can push things out of control.
Dealing with underground landfill fires is more difficult and the outcome can be somewhat unclear. There are a number of ways to contain and extinguish such fires, with one of the most effective ones being ‘injection’ of inert gases like CO2 into the fire’s underground hot zone. Excavating the fire, also known as overhauling is another method with relatively good success rate. In this case though, primary concern of site operators is to prevent fire from spreading during the excavation process.
Recycling has been around for decades, and in recent years it has become a really big thing. Proper recycling policies – both of individual household and city administrations around the world – are of utmost importance for keeping the balance of the global eco-system. That is why the fact that the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) is going to invest in the development of recycling facilities and policies of nearly 20 London boroughs can only make us happy.
The whole deal would be part of the Driving Up Performance Fund, which is going to relocate 1.2 million GBP to the local councils of a large number of the administrative units of the capital in order to achieve the aforementioned goals. This decision, representatives of the Waste and Recycling Board state, is going to impact over 1 000 000 households throughout the territory of London. In the worst case scenario, we think, even if half of the mentioned households make use of the facilities and resources that would be put at their disposal thanks to the plan, this will significantly decrease the amount of junk that is going to go to the landfills in recent future. This will make recycling in London much more efficient on one hand, and naturally – waste disposal throughout the city a much easier job for both professionals and individual residents. But the most important thing – London is going to become a cleaner, tidier and more resource and energy-efficient city, which should be the biggest award we can possibly get from the whole deal.
According to the LWARB the level of food being recycled will be the aspect that is going to be recycled in the years to come. This is particularly good, because as you very well know, food shortage is a big problem globally. Now, you may not feel this directly, but it is a solid fact, and it is up to us – the people who have more, to start using food resources more efficiently. In the long run this is also going to help the rest of the world.
It is all up to the authorities to make recycling and waste management in general more efficient and simpler. The simpler the process is, the more people are going to get involved, and the benefits of the whole deal are going to become bigger and more influential. This is the main reason the news for this funding is a happy one. What we all hope for is that it is going to streamline the process of recycling, remove the small obstacles that usually keep more people from recycling on a daily basis at home, and eventually make the very idea of recycling and responsible waste management appealing to a much wider audience.
The only thing left for you and us is now to wait and see how the plans of LWARB are going to turn out. And when the time comes, to do our bit in the war against pollution. We know we will do it. Do you?
Nowadays more and more are upgrading your homes to make their household more energy efficient. If you like the idea of living in an energy efficient house, here are some easy changes which you can conduct to achieve your goal.
Insulate your home – By adding a new or additional layer of insulation to your ceiling and exterior walls you will ensure that your home is properly sealed. This will keep the warm or cool air inside and the hot or cold air outside and will drastically reduce your consumption of energy. This will instantly make your home more energy efficient and more importantly reduce your utility bills.
Upgrade the frames of your windows – Studies show that approximately 34% of the interior air is lost due to faulty and damaged window frames. So by upgrading the frames of you windows you will eliminate this unwanted tendency and keep your interior air inside. This will once again reduce your consumption of energy.
Replace your old kitchen and bathroom appliances – Old appliances require a lot of energy and water and aren’t considered energy efficient, while new appliance are specially designed to work with as less energy and water as possible. And while replacing your appliances may be costly at first it will certainly be an investment that will return your money in the long run.
Use your appliances efficiently – Replacing your appliance will get the half of the job done. The other half is to learn how to use your new appliances efficiently. So instead of throwing the instruction books away, sit down and read them in order to learn which setting are the most energy efficient and how to program and use them.
Keep your water heater warm – The idea temperature for warm water ranges from 48°C and 60°C, so there is no need for you to go above this temperature range. Also don’t turn on and off your water heater and this requires a lot of energy. Instead set the heater at a setting and let it run. Modern heaters turn off on their own once the desired water temperature is reached.
Change your light bulbs – Replace all your incandescent bulbs with fluorescent ones. Although fluorescent light bulbs are more expensive they will save you a lot of money, as they have a longer lifespan and require less energy to provide to your household the levels of illumination that you seek. By doing this simply upgrade you will drastically increase the energy efficiency of your home and decrease the overall energy usage of your household.
Know that some of these upgrades will generate some amount of rubbish, which you will have to clear from your property. However if you are too tired to remove the waste on your own don’t worry and simply company a waste clearance company. These are specialized companies that provide rubbish removal services to people that either don’t have the time or knowledge to clear their waste on their own.
Don’t worry about the price of professional junk collection services, because most companies work with cost effective prices.
A well maintained basement is a great addition to any home. You may have already noticed that the basement is the place where you tend to store the unnecessary junk you collect at home, but it should not be that way. Get a major junk clearance in the basement down and research the things you can utilize the space for. If you need an example – the basement is a great place to turn into the ultimate man-cave. Or a home office, or a game-room. The opportunities are countless, but you first should make sure that your basement is free of junk, and it is properly finished. These are the things you should look out for when preparing your basement for use:
1) Make sure that there is no moisture. Look not only for the obvious signs like puddles of water and drippings from the ceiling, but also that the ground on the outside is graded from the foundations, cracks in the walls etc. – all those things that may accommodate the access of moisture to your basement.
2) After you have made the plans about what you are going to do with your basement, you should check out with the local town council about any building regulations specific for your area, as well as permits that you need to get. Once all the paperwork is covered, you can commence the actual project.
3) The raw material of which the basement walls would be made would be either cement, or masonry or brick. You will use some wall covering for sure, but in addition to the type that most appeals to you aesthetically, you would have to consider the proper fasteners for the kind of wall that you have.
4) In order to further ensure that you are not going to have problems with moisture, it is worth it to place some sort of a vapor barrier between the wall and the covering. It is always better to play it safe, so do not skip this point. It will save you a lot of trouble in the future.
5) For the same purpose described above, you should also consider adding offset space between the wall and the covering so that the wood or the metal would not be damaged from potential damp.
6) Insulation is another thing to take care of. In order to fully enjoy the time spent in your new basement, it should be properly heated/cooled, depending on the season. Insulation would also help you make the place energy efficient, so that there are no unpleasant surprises on your utilities bills at the end of each month.
7) The ceiling is another aspect to consider. The best option, according to specialists, is the drop ceiling, which both would look good and provide enough space for electrical and plumbing lines.
8) Have in mind that recess light is by far the optimal solution for the basement, because they save a lot of valuable above head space.
Well, everyone dreams of living in a sunny place along the coast and have a care-free life. Unfortunately, few are the privileged that can afford it. If you have always wanted to have a Mediterranean style home, but you cannot just move to Italy or Greece whenever you wish, there is still hope for you – you can turn your current place into something that holds the spirit and atmosphere of the warm and sunny place of your dreams. And it would be neither that expensive nor hard to achieve.
An important not before we begin. Every home improvement project requires much preparation and planning. You should know that even upon completion of the immediate task, there would still be things to do like getting rid of all the junk accumulated throughout the work process. Arrange a rubbish removal service in advance and make sure that you know what and when you are going to do on every step.
The Mediterranean style is primarily determined by color and light, so these are the two aspects you should pay special attention to. The earthly colors – rust, red, brown, orange and yellow, as well as blue and green – the shades of the sea, would be the most appropriate choice. As you can see on your own, your choice would not be limited, and you will have plenty of room to spread the wings of your imagination.
Another thing that makes the Mediterranean style so appealing is the unique combination between elegance, comfort and efficiency. The living room, being the place where you are likely to spend most of your time, is the place where this can be shown most explicitly. The Mediterranean living room is defined by large sofas, ottomans and floor pillows that in any case are covered all with soft fabrics. You can also think about an Anatolian rug here and there, and even tapestries if you are going for the most authentic effect possible.
The kitchen and the dining room should have long wooden tables with no too extravagant decoration. The Mediterranean style is, above all things, a plain one. Get blue stoneware tablesettings and pieces of large glazed pottery for the finishing touch. You can also pick up any decorative or accent pieces that bring to mind the Mediterranean style, including but not limited to Moorish-tiled backsplash, Berber draperies, prints of Mediterranean scenes and so on and so forth.
The decoration of the bedroom is best to consist of beads and carved boxes, as well as lush beddings and draperies and invoke your sensuality. Ornate hanging fixtures are not only acceptable but highly advised.
If you have any outdoor space, make sure to put some statures of classical images in it and some small Spanish fountain in order to imitate the pleasure gardens of Ancient Rome. Remember, as with everything else, the Mediterranean garden should be a hospitable place from which pleasure of life is derived in every moment. Make it comfortable and make it functional as well.