Moultonborough Trash Inspection

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by Green's Basin Girl

Did you mean a full trash bag scanner?

Did your husband stop and deposit the cans and glass and plastic etc first? I think they want to see that you are recycling? Sometimes I do notice huge bags being put in the garbage only chute that look like they must contain more than garbage. They also clang and bang when deposited. Garbage bags are usually smaller. Now I save and once in a while bring the cardboard etc to the place where it can be deposited. This is what I do since they once went through my bags several years ago!!! It works out nicely.
I still think that a lot of it just gets burned in the end though.
Good to teach young ones to follow the rules even when sometimes they do not make sense.

[breathe easy]

If you haven't been to the transfer station recently, plastic recycling has gotten more complicated. There are now 3 separate plastic bins: clear, translucent and milk type plastic containers. I need more bins...

[PHDIII]

I opened this thread on 12/13/09 and have been amazed at the number of thoughtful responses. Overall a pretty good discussion.

One of the early thoughts expressed was that more signs should be posted at the transfer station.....they heard you! The place is awash with signs; almost comical. They even passed out a flyer last week summarizing, for example, how many gajillion hours one TV could run on the energy saved by our efforts. I have difficulty getting any real perspective from these kinds of statements except that energy was saved.

I've added a receptacle in the kitchen for paper since they seem to want us to recycle most all paper instead of putting it into the trash.
The sign inside at the transfer station states...."if it can be ripped it can be recycled". Well, mostly. I don't think they really mean to throw used kleenex, paper towels or butter wrappers into the bin of newspapers and magazines.

As for inspection, my visit last week was very cordial with the attendant giving the dog a cookie and helping me toss bags into the chute. I'm sure he was using his calibrated arm to judge weight of the bags....no ripping open or frisking.

This week I'll have to face the newest wrinkle as mentioned above....sort your plastics by color.

[BroadHopper]

Good news for them. The city went single stream. No more seperating the recycled materials. My condo association had single stream with Waste management for a year now. It is very effective in getting people to recycle. The condo association have saved about $100 a month in trash disposal.

[Newcomers]

...perhaps it might make money for the town if......

there are two lines at the dump?

One for people who want to pay a fee and leave their stuff for the staff to sort...

and a second line for free where people have sorted

Priced right,,,the first line could make this a profitable venture

[SerenityRick]

Rather than make a new thread I thought I'd bump this old one to vent.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous the hoops that we have to 'jump' through just to throw away a few bags of trash.

Since moving to Moultonborough in March of 2012, I've gone to the 'transfer station' a total of maybe 4 or 5 times. The reason? I'm absolutely intimidated by the process there. I actually just let the bags pile up in my garage and then take them all in one big trip. Also, I don't mean intimidated in a threatening way obviously but I absolutely hate that there's always an attendent standing next to the trash bin and eye-ing the bags as you go through.

The mandatory recycling is complete crap. I don't mind recycling. My wife and I do it.. but we don't have enough space to have separate bins or bags for clear plastic, colored plastic, glass, paper, etc etc.. that's ridiculous. So we bring all of our recycling to her mom's place in Sandwich where she helps us out by bringing it to their transfer station which has single stream recycling.

I haven't been stopped for a random "bag" check yet.. but I can say right now that I would not comply. Seriously. **** that. Every once in a while I'll throw in a plastic bottle or can in the trash because our other bins are full or yeah, maybe I'm just too lazy to wash it out. I'm not going to be made to look like a criminal at the back of my truck while some guy (who I know is just doing what he's told) goes through my garbage. I don't know how anyone can be supportive of this and I don't know why the citizens of Moultonborough have put up with this for the past however many years it's been mandatory.

Also, nevermind the occasional recyclable in the trash bags.. sometimes I have bags sit for weeks on end with rotting meat or cat crap/puke.. Even with gloves I'm not going to go digging through 20 pounds of vomit inducing stuff because they want an extra plastic bottle.

Sorry. Just needed to vent. Maybe it's my problem, I don't know. But it sucks that I get anxiety every time I want to go to the freakin' dump now.

[BroadHopper]

After living in a number of towns on the past decades, I can't believe the disparity betweene towns. For instance Hooksett is voluntary recycling with seperate bins for glass, plastic etc. What I like is that there is plenty of room to do the seperation from a single receptacle at the station. No one is watching you like a hawk. You can also recycle electronics, appliances, furniture and metals at no extra cost. Just place the materials in their respective piles.

As for Laconia, the town has single stream recycling. They also have recycling bins at the DPW on Morrill St. But if you want to recycle larger appliances, furniture, metals and electronics, you need to take a trip to the city hall for a pass and then another trip to the transfer station on Meredith Center Road. The transfer station has limited hours, so you need to plan ahead to recycle large stuffs.

With my schedule it is tough to get to the Laconia transfer station on time. There was a number of occasions that it was easier for me to drop the larger stuff off at Hooksett than Laconia. I have property in Hooksett so I don't feel guilty.

Hooksett will take hazardous waste and motor oil anytime. Laconia has two days a year that they will accept hazardous waste. In the past three years I had other plans on the Laconia hazarous waste days. So I take my hazardous waste to Hooksett.

Why can't all towns have similar schedules and be able to open for those who have regular 9-5 jobs and commute 2 hours a day?

[dan]

Originally Posted by SerenityRick

Rather than make a new thread I thought I'd bump this old one to vent.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous the hoops that we have to 'jump' through just to throw away a few bags of trash.

Since moving to Moultonborough in March of 2012, I've gone to the 'transfer station' a total of maybe 4 or 5 times. The reason? I'm absolutely intimidated by the process there. I actually just let the bags pile up in my garage and then take them all in one big trip. Also, I don't mean intimidated in a threatening way obviously but I absolutely hate that there's always an attendent standing next to the trash bin and eye-ing the bags as you go through.

The mandatory recycling is complete crap. I don't mind recycling. My wife and I do it.. but we don't have enough space to have separate bins or bags for clear plastic, colored plastic, glass, paper, etc etc.. that's ridiculous. So we bring all of our recycling to her mom's place in Sandwich where she helps us out by bringing it to their transfer station which has single stream recycling.

I haven't been stopped for a random "bag" check yet.. but I can say right now that I would not comply. Seriously. **** that. Every once in a while I'll throw in a plastic bottle or can in the trash because our other bins are full or yeah, maybe I'm just too lazy to wash it out. I'm not going to be made to look like a criminal at the back of my truck while some guy (who I know is just doing what he's told) goes through my garbage. I don't know how anyone can be supportive of this and I don't know why the citizens of Moultonborough have put up with this for the past however many years it's been mandatory.

Also, nevermind the occasional recyclable in the trash bags.. sometimes I have bags sit for weeks on end with rotting meat or cat crap/puke.. Even with gloves I'm not going to go digging through 20 pounds of vomit inducing stuff because they want an extra plastic bottle.

Sorry. Just needed to vent. Maybe it's my problem, I don't know. But it sucks that I get anxiety every time I want to go to the freakin' dump now.

Talk to them. You will find them to be a very pleasant group of people to deal with. I find it to be a very clean and well run facility. Probably because I look older than I feel, they also help me carry my bags, sometimes. I've been going for quite a few years now, and have never seen them embarass or be rude to anyone.

[upthesaukee]

We go to the dump...er landfill...er transfer facility (terms used to describe the place over the years)...once a week. Our facility is open on Fri, Sat, Sun, and Mon, excluding holidays.

We recycle plastic, glass, tin cans, aluminum cans, paper other than cardboard which includes chipboard such as cereal boxes and like material, and cardboard. We have separate areas for larger metal, electronics, construction materials, and other things.

Personally, we have separate bins at our house for cans, glass, cans, and paper. Makes the recycling process quite easy.

SerenityRick, what you may not realize is that the recycling done at your facility is undoubtably the same as it is in Alton: there are monetary proceeds that the transfer station receives for the recycling. Speaking for Alton, this recycling significantly reduces the operating costs of our transfer facility. It is more than "what is good for the economy", but has to deal more with keeping refuse costs down as low as possible. With no recycling, the cost to dispose of the "rubbish" increases dramatically, as does the availability of locations at which to dispose of the trash.

Alton has about 4 or 5 Saturdays during the summer to dispose of hazardous wastes. The governmental regulations, both State and Federal, are significant, and we do our disposal in conjuction with Wolfeboro.

Recycling, regardless of where hazardous or not, is simply a matter of money. In fact, Alton has had to build roofed areas over concrete with waste water collection in conformity with Regs.

Sorry you feel so intimidated or having your privacy invaded. If you came to an Alton deliberative session, you would hear about the warrant article each year for the transfer station, and how much of the money requested is for the mandated testing via test wells that Alton has to do each because of ground water contamination in years past when we didn't care about that sort of thing.

Reverse Rant...no finger pointing...just want to give an opposing view to the dump...er landfill...er transfer station stuff.

[Irrigation Guy]

I too think they are looking to help with the process not intimidate. They are always friendly and cordial ready to lend a hand when they see someone needs help and ready to guide when a question arises.

Look at the sign on the wall outside the building, the process has save the taxpayers significant $$$ over the years.

BTW- I do sometimes let an extra dirty jar fall in the trash and have never gotten a dirty look. LOL. I have a seperate barrel for plastic, and a bin that I mix glass a metal in. Also run a box for cardboard and paper. In my house it all goes in one b ox to be sorted in the garage before heading to the dump or when it's full and 'm not quite ready to go. It really doesn't occupy that much space.

[dpg]

Not going back to read this whole thread but if you have pickup at your home by a service do you have to recycle for them?

[LIforrelaxin]

Years ago when the Moultonborough dump turned into a transfer station there was indeed a lot of commotion and intimidation going on. Most of the worker where grumpy and afraid of the change that was going on. Most of those people are gone.

I haven't seen them try to inspect any bodies bags in a long time. All the guys working at the facility are great. And always willing to help out. I don't think I have gone to the Transfer station in Moultonborough in the last 2 or 3 years where I wouldn't say they didn't do something to make my life easier. Weather it be take the vaccum from my car and put it in the correct location, or take the couple of peiece of metal, and bring them over to the metal recycling area, while I continued to empty my truck of the general construction debries.

I even have had good experiences going in and talking with them about getting rid of hazardous waste items, and when they don't know, they always search out a colleuge and get the answer for you...

[ITD]

I've had my bags inspected there (Moultonboro) and have been busted, a few beer cans in the bag. The inspection consisted of the bag being squeezed and felt, bottles and cans are easily felt thru the bags and he pulled them right out. The penalty..... a look, a smile, and a "have a pleasant day sir". Subsequent trips have been uneventful and the "inspector" seems like a great guy, very helpful and courteous.

YMMV, don't get me going on recycling, some items make sense, aluminum cans for instance, others make no sense and it is cheaper to bury them and probably better for the environment also....

[Natt]

Separating garbage is easy, recycling is a good thing, and having such a well maintained and managed facility with such nice personnel is special. Oh, and we look forward to our dump date!

[SerenityRick]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

We go to the dump...er landfill...er transfer facility (terms used to describe the place over the years)...once a week. Our facility is open on Fri, Sat, Sun, and Mon, excluding holidays.

We recycle plastic, glass, tin cans, aluminum cans, paper other than cardboard which includes chipboard such as cereal boxes and like material, and cardboard. We have separate areas for larger metal, electronics, construction materials, and other things.

Personally, we have separate bins at our house for cans, glass, cans, and paper. Makes the recycling process quite easy.

SerenityRick, what you may not realize is that the recycling done at your facility is undoubtably the same as it is in Alton: there are monetary proceeds that the transfer station receives for the recycling. Speaking for Alton, this recycling significantly reduces the operating costs of our transfer facility. It is more than "what is good for the economy", but has to deal more with keeping refuse costs down as low as possible. With no recycling, the cost to dispose of the "rubbish" increases dramatically, as does the availability of locations at which to dispose of the trash.

Alton has about 4 or 5 Saturdays during the summer to dispose of hazardous wastes. The governmental regulations, both State and Federal, are significant, and we do our disposal in conjuction with Wolfeboro.

Recycling, regardless of where hazardous or not, is simply a matter of money. In fact, Alton has had to build roofed areas over concrete with waste water collection in conformity with Regs.

Sorry you feel so intimidated or having your privacy invaded. If you came to an Alton deliberative session, you would hear about the warrant article each year for the transfer station, and how much of the money requested is for the mandated testing via test wells that Alton has to do each because of ground water contamination in years past when we didn't care about that sort of thing.

Reverse Rant...no finger pointing...just want to give an opposing view to the dump...er landfill...er transfer station stuff.

I understand the benefit that recycling may have for the town and strongly urging citizens to recycle is something that I have no problem with. Again.. we recycle..

The problem I have is the "guilty until proven innocent" stuff... I don't know how often they do random bag checks but it's written in bright red font on their website: we reserve the right to randomly check bags of trash to ensure compliance with our mandatory recycling policy. I'm sorry but that's messed up. Especially since it also says that failure to comply with this will result in being asked to leave the premises... So if I don't want some guy poking through my trash I'm made out to be the bad guy? Ridiculous. I don't care if I know that with 100% certainty that there is no "contraband" in said bag of trash, that is beyond my personal comprehension.

I could MAYBE understand if I'm walking up with a bag that's CLEARY filled with nothing but plastic or glass bottles where they would ask me to sort it out. The whole 'eye-balling' of trash bags in the off chance of maybe seeing a distinctive red cap of a plastic coke bottle and then forcing me to tear open my trash where I have to sift through rotten meat and moldy garbage is a whole other deal. One that I am in no way comfortable with.

[SerenityRick]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

Years ago when the Moultonborough dump turned into a transfer station there was indeed a lot of commotion and intimidation going on. Most of the worker where grumpy and afraid of the change that was going on. Most of those people are gone.

I haven't seen them try to inspect any bodies bags in a long time. All the guys working at the facility are great. And always willing to help out. I don't think I have gone to the Transfer station in Moultonborough in the last 2 or 3 years where I wouldn't say they didn't do something to make my life easier. Weather it be take the vaccum from my car and put it in the correct location, or take the couple of peiece of metal, and bring them over to the metal recycling area, while I continued to empty my truck of the general construction debries.

I even have had good experiences going in and talking with them about getting rid of hazardous waste items, and when they don't know, they always search out a colleuge and get the answer for you...

Perhaps I was very unlucky on the day I went.. it was a few weeks after moving here and as I pulled in, someone was getting their garbage "inspected".. then.. on my third trip up to the trash compactor the guy there happened to see a single 20oz plastic bottle and yelled at me to stop as I was in mid throw.

He was nice enough, sure... and maybe most of you have no problem with this.. but I just see it as a giant pain in the ass. So I went back, with supplied gloves and dug through 3 week old garbage which only had that single plastic bottle and right away I was just put in a terrible mood.

I really don't care how nice these people are. I'm sure they are great people... nothing against them at all. But I don't care how nice someone is when they are asking me to do something so absolutely stupid and frivolous.

Here's a thought.. trust me to recycle my own garbage. Don't give me the TSA treatment.

[Irrigation Guy]

Never had my bags looked at but always have recycling to drop off too.

[upthesaukee]

They say the same thing in Alton...I think it is more to keep the honest person honest...I hate to see the dump patrons wantonly disregard the recycling, and toss in black plastic bags that have more than one or two plastic bottles, that toss a half dozen cardboard boxes into the compactor.

Hope that you have better experiences at facility in Moultonboro. Sorry you have not in past.

I know I can get trash pickup at the house, but for 50 cents per sticker (2 vehicles) I found it worthwhile to go to the dump.

Be well Rick, and if you go out on the lake and see a red and white 25 ft Mariah bowrider...give a wave and yell a hello...

[Winnipesaukee Divers]

Well, I read through this thread and chuckled to myself many times and kept hearing myself say "if you only knew". As most of you know I live down here in Exeter and we have curbside "pay per bag" and free recycling pick up. We are encouraged to make the most of the free recycling, but it's limited to household use only. Being an HVAC contractor I have make my own refuge disposal by whatever mean are appropriate.

I choose to have a 5 ton enclosed dump trailer that I take it up to Mt. Trashmore or otherwise known as Waste Management Turn Key in Rochester (cost is $90/ton). One day when I waiting on top of the mountain for my turn to dump, a Waste Management recycle truck (the same one that picked up my recyclables earlier that day) pulls right up next to me and dumps the whole load right there. The packer (the biggest iron wheel dozer I've ever seen) drives over the load spreading it out and packing it down into the pile. I asked the yardman, "what's with that", his reply was, "the price is down today and they are just parking it here". Of course my response was, "when do they come back and get it?" His was reply was... "Really? think about it!"

Maybe before you get to excited about your recyclables you ought to see just where they actually go. I do my "feel good" part and try to fill my recycle bin, but I'm not about to wash the trash that ends up in the same place.

Oh, about my business refuse: I now bring it all to Environmental Resource Return Corp's (ERRCO) Recycling Facility, located in Epping, NH, New Hampshire's first state-of-the art construction and demolition recycling facility. The cost is the same for me but I can see just what's happening to it (they're making money off it), a win-win situation.

[jeffk]

I have had this house for 17 years using it part time and full time for the past 3 years. I have never had a bag "inspected" and the workers at the dump have been very helpful.

As to too much work to sort; a bin for cans a bin for plastic (sort the plastic types at the dump since they are side by side), a bin for glass (I put plastic and glass together and separate the two just before I go to the dump), and a pile for paper and cardboard. Sorry, it's really not that hard to do unless you just want to make an issue of it. They have samples of the plastic bottle types nailed up so sorting the plastic just isn't that tough either. When in doubt, ask. I had saved yogurt containers (type 5) for recycling and was told they are garbage. After a couple dump runs I got the hang of it. I went with a friend who was moving and cleaned out a lot of stuff. The guys came over to the truck, helped us to sort, and helped to unload.

And yes, I cheat occasionally too. When things are really messy they sometimes end up in the garbage rather than getting cleaned out.

I've had no problems and don't feel any intimidation.

[At Your Service NH]

Call us for weekly trash and recycling pick up. We are a local family owned business located in Moultonborough that provides reliable economical trash & recycling services. We are doing our part to help reduce the transfer station expenses and ultimately your tax dollar by collecting, transporting and disposing of your waste and recyclables to legal licensed facility located outside of the lakes region.

We provide our customers with a complimentary 96 gallon wheeled tote that both recyclable and non-recyclable waste can be put into. Separation is suggested but not required. Weekly service starting at $10 per week. Call today and avoid the anxiety of being put on the spot by a town employee for what is in your bag. 603-986-8149 or 800-335-0403

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by At Your Service NH

Call us for weekly trash and recycling pick up. We are a local family owned business located in Moultonborough that provides reliable economical trash & recycling services. We are doing our part to help reduce the transfer station expenses and ultimately your tax dollar by collecting, transporting and disposing of your waste and recyclables to legal licensed facility located outside of the lakes region.

We provide our customers with a complimentary 96 gallon wheeled tote that both recyclable and non-recyclable waste can be put into. Separation is suggested but not required. Weekly service starting at $10 per week. Call today and avoid the anxiety of being put on the spot by a town employee for what is in your bag. 603-986-8149 or 800-335-0403

Do you have a website?

[pcmc]

I'm all for recycling, I feel it's important to 'do our part' as has been stated already. What bothers me is how only items that are profitable are recycled. Bottle caps aren't a money maker so they get thrown aside. A question I have is if money is being made off of this, how can we skip the middle man and cash in on recycling our own recyclables ourselves, instead of giving the money away?

Another thought is, from what we are told, we are wasting the water that the entire world has a limited supply of. How many gallons of water are we (the world) wasting washing our garbage?

My son, who does cart wheels about recycling, just did a report on recycling. He was disappointed with the statistic he came across stating that only 9% of recycled materials get recycled. I don't know if he read that on the web or in a book, but boy was he shocked.

[tis]

Originally Posted by pcmc

I'm all for recycling, I feel it's important to 'do our part' as has been stated already. What bothers me is how only items that are profitable are recycled. Bottle caps aren't a money maker so they get thrown aside. A question I have is if money is being made off of this, how can we skip the middle man and cash in on recycling our own recyclables ourselves, instead of giving the money away?

Another thought is, from what we are told, we are wasting the water that the entire world has a limited supply of. How many gallons of water are we (the world) wasting washing our garbage?

My son, who does cart wheels about recycling, just did a report on recycling. He was disappointed with the statistic he came across stating that only 9% of recycled materials get recycled. I don't know if he read that on the web or in a book, but boy was he shocked.

Every time I wash a can or bottle out, I wonder that very same thing-how much water is being wasted!!! I would love to know!

[PaugusBayFireFighter]

Originally Posted by tis

Every time I wash a can or bottle out, I wonder that very same thing-how much water is being wasted!!! I would love to know!

I never really questioned the "wasting water" phrase as a kid but as an adult I have come to look at that phrase the same way I do "you'll catch a cold if you go outside without a jacket " or "Don't go swimming after you eat or you'll get a cramp and drown", both myths. I wonder how running your faucet is really wasting water? You pay for it and it ends up back in your faucet eventually. We have no less or no more water on this planet than we did 100 years ago and there's very little difference of water content since the oceans were formed.
Truth is we abuse the natural "water cycle" with plastics and other environmental waste, that slows the cycle. Some day we will pay if bad habits don't change.
You may be wasting money when you let the water run, but the water isn't gone forever.
I'm not questioning the idea of conserving and preserving water, I'm questioning the old phrase "wasting".

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by At Your Service NH

Call us for weekly trash and recycling pick up. We are a local family owned business located in Moultonborough that provides reliable economical trash & recycling services. We are doing our part to help reduce the transfer station expenses and ultimately your tax dollar by collecting, transporting and disposing of your waste and recyclables to legal licensed facility located outside of the lakes region.

We provide our customers with a complimentary 96 gallon wheeled tote that both recyclable and non-recyclable waste can be put into. Separation is suggested but not required. Weekly service starting at $10 per week. Call today and avoid the anxiety of being put on the spot by a town employee for what is in your bag. 603-986-8149 or 800-335-0403

If you haven't already, you could place a classified ad on this website as well. I didn't check to see if you already had done so, in which case, it is my bad for not looking.

Best of luck, and thanks for posting.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by PaugusBayFireFighter

I never really questioned the "wasting water" phrase as a kid but as an adult I have come to look at that phrase the same way I do "you'll catch a cold if you go outside without a jacket " or "Don't go swimming after you eat or you'll get a cramp and drown", both myths. I wonder how running your faucet is really wasting water? You pay for it and it ends up back in your faucet eventually. We have no less or no more water on this planet than we did 100 years ago and there's very little difference of water content since the oceans were formed.
Truth is we abuse the natural "water cycle" with plastics and other environmental waste, that slows the cycle. Some day we will pay if bad habits don't change.
You may be wasting money when you let the water run, but the water isn't gone forever.
I'm not questioning the idea of conserving and preserving water, I'm questioning the old phrase "wasting".

What you say is true and thanks to the hydrologic cycle, we drink and bathe in the same H2O that rained on the dinosaurs.

However...water shortages are really a problem of distribution. We may have enough freshwater on Earth to meet the global population's current needs, but we can't always make it available where it's needed, when it's needed, and in the quality in which it's needed.

You can think of a community's water supply as a bank balance: If the community takes out more than can be returned in a timely fashion, it may reach a point at which it doesn't have enough water to grow crops, wash clothes, or flush toilets. Communities withdraw water from local surface waters (such as rivers, lakes, or reservoirs), groundwater aquifers, or both. Those sources do eventually get replenished by precipitation, but that can be a very long, slow process—with groundwater, for example, it can take hundreds or even thousands of years. Storing the water is a challenge as well: According to a 2003 report from the Government Accountability Office, the holding capacity of the United States' existing reservoirs may be declining due to aging dams and increased sedimentation. Constructing new dams is not only expensive but can also damage aquatic ecosystems.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health...verywhere.html

[chipj29]

Re: rinsing cans and bottles-I have almost never done it. I would waste thousands of gallons of water a year rinsing beer cans

Re: fresh water-If cruise ships can have systems to turn sea water into drinkable water, why isn't that technology widely used on land?

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by chipj29

Re: fresh water-If cruise ships can have systems to turn sea water into drinkable water, why isn't that technology widely used on land?

It's called "Reverse Osmosis" and is very expensive. Some countries use it a lot... Australia is one of them.
The United States still has plenty of potable water so we don't need to use it that much right now.

You can buy a "Reverse Osmosis" filtering unit at Walmart for @ $250.

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by chipj29

Re: rinsing cans and bottles-I have almost never done it. I would waste thousands of gallons of water a year rinsing beer cans

Re: fresh water-If cruise ships can have systems to turn sea water into drinkable water, why isn't that technology widely used on land?

Obviously the first issue is being close to the source. This desal plant in Melbourne was recently on one of my favorite tv shows, Build it Bigger.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victori...lination_Plant

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by tis

Every time I wash a can or bottle out, I wonder that very same thing-how much water is being wasted!!! I would love to know!

Even though I am very conservative with water, I never consider any water I use at home being "wasted". I pump it out of the ground from my well and put right back there in my leach field.
Our water on this planet isn't going anywhere, it just moves around. All the rivers we take water from used to end up in the ocean before. I guess that would have been massive waste before we harnessed it.

[Happy Gourmand]

Originally Posted by Rusty

It's called "Reverse Osmosis" and is very expensive. Some countries use it a lot... Australia is one of them.
The United States still has plenty of potable water so we don't need to use it that much right now.

You can buy a "Reverse Osmosis" filtering unit at Walmart for @ $250.

The ships I was on back in the 60's used evaporators to make fresh water.

[Lakegeezer]

In an average year, over 300 billion gallons of rain falls on the Winnipesaukee watershed. Much of that gravitates to the lake, a reserve with over 670 billion gallons, then heads down the Merrimack River to the sea, continuing the water cycle. The supply of drinking quality ground water is a different issue, but the lakes region is not hurting for the quantity of fresh water. Using a few thousand gallons for what ever you want, especially if taken from surface water, is OK. Just please return it when you are done.

[dpg]

Originally Posted by PaugusBayFireFighter

I never really questioned the "wasting water" phrase as a kid but as an adult I have come to look at that phrase the same way I do "you'll catch a cold if you go outside without a jacket " or "Don't go swimming after you eat or you'll get a cramp and drown", both myths. I wonder how running your faucet is really wasting water? You pay for it and it ends up back in your faucet eventually. We have no less or no more water on this planet than we did 100 years ago and there's very little difference of water content since the oceans were formed.
Truth is we abuse the natural "water cycle" with plastics and other environmental waste, that slows the cycle. Some day we will pay if bad habits don't change.
You may be wasting money when you let the water run, but the water isn't gone forever.
I'm not questioning the idea of conserving and preserving water, I'm questioning the old phrase "wasting".

If you have your own septic system as opposed to town water/waste not sure how that's recycled. Mine goes from the tap to the holding tank then out into the leaching field.....Recycle? How???

[PaugusBayFireFighter]

Originally Posted by dpg

If you have your own septic system as opposed to town water/waste not sure how that's recycled. Mine goes from the tap to the holding tank then out into the leaching field.....Recycle? How???

Whether you dump water into the earth, vaporize it into the atmosphere, it doesn't matter. The hydrologic cycle eventually brings the water back to a liquid state. The water never leaves the planet. Here's a couple diagrams to explain it.

[garysanfran]

In the City in which I reside, one consequence of strict recycling and trash separation caused an increase in illegal dumping. The only folks pleased by this was the SEIU. They got to hire more sanitation employees to clean freeway underpasses, alleys, parking lots, etc.

[ITD]

Originally Posted by Lakegeezer

In an average year, over 300 billion gallons of rain falls on the Winnipesaukee watershed. Much of that gravitates to the lake, a reserve with over 670 billion gallons, then heads down the Merrimack River to the sea, continuing the water cycle. The supply of drinking quality ground water is a different issue, but the lakes region is not hurting for the quantity of fresh water. Using a few thousand gallons for what ever you want, especially if taken from surface water, is OK. Just please return it when you are done.

It's kind of like beer, you only rent it.