🚀 go-pugleaf

Lex Cunningham wrote:
> 
> Agree with most of what you have written. This is whats happening in Perth,
> Western Australia. The Australian Computer Museum Society(WA) have set up a
> business called Worms E Waste Recyclers. Worms dismantles all sorts of
> electrical and electronic equipment to separate the various materials. This
> makes the waste more valuable than if it was still in one piece. The labour
> comes from people sentenced to do community service by the courts, so is
> free. The state government have decided anyone sentenced to less than six
> months does community service rather than time. The Justice Department were
> desperate for placements as not everyone is suitable for pulling weeds. The
> money generated from the scrap sales goes into supporting the operation and
> the museum. Another community benefit is that while doing the service, the
> little darlings are not making off with your tv or video....
> 

We have a very similar operation here in Christchurch, NZ.  A trust
operates a computer dismantling and second hand computer operation. 
Unemployed workers are used.  It gives a bit of work experience.

> As far as finding a use for all of the scrap, there are ways of dealing with
> what appears to be difficult substances. The only problem is that the EPA
> are way behind as far as whats possible. We would like to use the plastic
> scrap as feed for a converter to generate sulphar free diesel, but the plant
> costs are beyond us. The alternative is to send it to the east coast, but
> the return may be negative. As you can probably tell, government support is
> nil. They are still thinking of the hole in the ground solution.
> 

Burning plastics is set to become illegal in NZ as far as I can tell. 
It produces dioxins.  Nasty cancer-causing stuff.  High temp
incineration may be ok.  After re-reading your comments I not qualified
to talk about plastics to deseil conversion.  Don't know about it.  I
guess plastics being a product of petro-chemicals may well have plenty
of latent energy.

Alan Liefting