Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: can recycling + waste recycling + remodeling  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/5/2008)

PR Web (press release) Eco Friendly Getaways: NY Times Interviews Travel Ecopreneur PR Web (press release), WA - 39 minutes ago It is not as simple as putting out a recycling bin and asking guests to conserve water. Going for the green takes more than fluorescent light bulbs. ... AMS Boosts Southeast Pallets? Production & Safety With ?Nailing On ... Pallet Enterprise, VA - Jul 31, 2008 ?We?ve equipped ourselves to be as competitive as [we] can be,? says Kevin. ?We?ve equipped ourselves for the long term.? Southeast Pallet Recycling is a ... Not many effects seen from trash sticker shock Clinton Times & Courier,  USA - Jul 31, 2008 ?It depends on how much waste volume versus recycling is there,? he said. ?If you?re in a private subscription community like Lancaster, service vendors ... Recycling construction debris is one way that area builders are ... Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI - Jul 25, 2008 About 75% of new-construction waste can be recycled. But the throwaways from remodeling often include painted or treated wood, old insulation and wiring, ... Remodel home for self, not for resale value Atlanta Journal Constitution,  USA - Jul 16, 2008 Ordinary flashlight-type batteries (those not rechargeable) usually should not be turned in for recycling. In many areas, they can be disposed of with trash ... Builders learn it's easy to be green DesMoinesRegister.com, IA - Aug 1, 2008 He said that when the company began sorting and recycling construction waste years ago, it was difficult to find companies to reuse materials. ... From the DNC to Boulder: A Greener Way of Life Examiner.com - Jul 31, 2008 The Program also promotes better indoor air quality; recycling of construction materials; and reduction of solid waste. Downtown Boulder was the first in ... Glam meets chic, style meets sustainability in Queen of Green's castle San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - Jul 31, 2008 In remodeling their home to make it more earth-friendly, Joaquin left the original floors - to reuse is the best green living, to her way of thinking - and ... Azle News Going Green: Recycling coming to Azle Azle News, TX - Jul 10, 2008 Last year when Community Waste Disposal (CWD) started pickup and recycling of household paper, aluminum, glass and plastic, Azle residents got their first ... Library programs help residents go green Shawnee Dispatch, KS - Jul 22, 2008 Come follow the trail of your trash and recyclables and learn all about sanitary landfills, recycling centers and yard waste composting. ...

Homeowners can recycle waste material from remodel

Q: We are planning a rather large remodel and addition to our home in Shoreline this summer. Significant demolition debris and waste is going to be produced. To avoid filling up landfills as much as possible, is there a place I can recycle drywall, carpet, roofing and so forth? Or does this material just get thrown in a Dumpster?

A: King County Solid Waste Division (KCSW) has an excellent reference guide titled "Construction Recycling Directory." This guide is available online at www.metrokc.gov/greenworks, and also in a printed pamphlet (of course on recycled paper). KCSW can also be reached at 206-296-4466. Even though the guide is put out by King County, residents of Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap counties will find pertinent and useful information about regional recyclers and waste-reduction methods.

There are some types of construction materials that can be recycled today: land-clearing debris, metals, glass, porcelain, concrete, brick, wood, asphalt roofing, drywall, ceiling tiles, dirt, rock, asphalt, cardboard, carpet and pad, and fluorescent lamps and ballasts.

Another consideration when making these demolition plans is the reusable building products and charity organizations. Some of us have even made money selling or consigning reusable materials to salvage retailers — and that sure beats having to pay to dump it! Good resources for these types of businesses are also available through KCSW.

Q: Ghosts have inhabited my copper plumbing-supply system, and I am wondering what, if anything, I should do about it. The house is a single level over a crawlspace, has plumbing in one bathroom, a kitchen, one external hose spigot and a laundry room. The place was built in 1978.

In replacing the 50-gallon hot-water tank, I turned off the incoming cold-water line at the valve above the tank and drained the tank of its water via the drain at the base. The cold-water pipe was disconnected from the tank, and of course no water came out of the pipe. I next disconnected the hot-water pipe from the tank, and water started coming out of the loose end of the pipe hanging out of the wall. Not a gusher, but certainly more than a drip.

I finally was forced to shut off the main water valve at the meter on the sidewalk. And then the dripping stopped. Finally, I turned the water back on at the meter, and the water again began to flow through the hot water pipe and into the bucket. Not knowing what to do about this, I installed the new hot water heater, and everything was back to normal.

A: You have a "cross-connection" between the hot and cold sides of the plumbing system. Just before your water-heater-shutoff valve, the main water-supply pipe "Y's", with half the water going to the water heater to become hot, and the rest remaining in the cold side of the system. After the "Y," the two sides of the system do not cross, except at faucets with mixing valves. The two sides have roughly equal pressure, since they are both motivated by the same source, the cold-water system.

Any single-lever faucet is a mixing valve, wherein the water will mix before coming through the spout. Faucets with separate handles are not mixing valves, and no cross-connection will occur. Mixing shower valves are the typical culprit in this kind of cross-connection. To prove this to yourself (with the hot-water tank disconnected), turn off the angle stop valves beneath the sinks at the kitchen and bath, then turn on the tub/shower mixer to full hot. Water will come out through the tub spout even though the hot water system is totally disconnected.

What is happening is that the hot-water system is being supplied in reverse because of a leak at the cold valve at the tub/shower. With no check valve on the hot side of the mixer, no tank to hold the pressure, and an open line on the end, water from the cold side, manifesting as a leak in the hot side, shows up in the bottom of your bucket.

Newer shower valves are pressure-balanced with a diaphragm, so that water will not flow in either direction without flowing through the other side in equal quantity. Pressure-balanced valves prevent the infamous toilet-flush-scalding problems that the older valves allow, as well as preventing the issue you describe if one of the valves is leaking. If the toilet flushing reduces the cold flow, the hot flow is reduced a corresponding amount.

But what to do? This is not a contaminating cross-connection where pollutants are allowed into the system, as would be the case with an external sprinkler system. So if the shower valve has the ability to give you enough hot water, I would do absolutely nothing. You might consider a shutoff valve at the hot side of the tank, or a new shower valve, to prevent this in the future.

Darrell Hay answers readers' questions. Call 206-464-8514 to record your question,