Thursday, 7 July 2016

What happens to the waste in skips?

Waste production is a global problem and there aren't many effective solutions for it. Whether we look at the residential area or the commercial, there are tonnes of garbage. Garbage like paper, wood, bottles and metals that need to be disposed to maintain a healthy and disease free environment. Unfortunately, a huge amount of waste ends up in the landfills that result in serious damage to every living being.

We are well aware of the fact that it is important to dispose the waste from homes and business to maintain a healthy environment. Practices like recycling are one of the best examples of how everything can be repurposed so that it doesn't end up in a landfill. To get rid of garbage at homes and in businesses, often searching for what skip hire businesses are the best can help.

But what happens to the waste after it is sent using a skip hire service? If you are curious to know what happens to it after it is loaded in a skip, keep reading:

1. Isolating the waste
It is important to isolate the waste from the local environment as it can become the major cause of several chronic diseases. To start off, the rubbish is emptied in an indoor space, where it can be treated properly.  Once it gets collected by the skip, companies that deal in skip hire services usually have an 'indoor recycling facility' with a huge space to keep the rubbish.  

2. Separating the waste
Separating and differentiating the waste is the next important step. The rubbish from homes and businesses is carefully separated into categories like wood, plastic, paper and their aggregates. Since there are different ways to treat waste of different materials, pre-sorting helps in removing the bulky items from the rest of the garbage.    

3. Treatment of the waste
To move the waste into the storage bays, companies use loading shovels which are ease to transfer the garbage from one place to another. Here, methods like shredding, screening or compaction are used to treat the waste, depending upon its nature.

4. Re-use or further treatment:
By reloading the final product into larger containers, waste is then transported to other areas to be further treated or for re-use.

Waste disposal companies make every possible effort to recycle the waste before sending the entire rubbish to a landfill site. To maintain a better and healthy environment, such steps are appreciated from companies and individuals.

It is quite obvious that one cannot use the same method to treat different types of waste. Here is the list of best methods used to treat the most common type of waste material:

1. Wood:
Wood can be disposed of in different ways. One of the most practical ways to reuse wood is by simply cutting the wood pieces in different shapes and using it for other purposes. But, if that is not suitable, companies recycle it by shredding the wood to turn it into a chipboard. In this process, the wood is shredded into sheets and joined together by a natural wood sap or adhesive. Chipboard manufacturers can use these sheets to create brand new furniture and other products. Moreover, the shredded wood can also be used for horticultural application or in fireplace stations.



2. Plastic:
According to an estimate, we use 15 million plastic bottles a day. These bottles can be used and recycled to make much more useful products by simple processes. After you send away used plastic bottles, waste disposal companies separate them in the store with the help of 'handle machines'. As there are variety of plastics, it becomes a necessary step to clean and sort the plastic type using Infrared. They are treated in colour groups that are neutrals - blue, green and mixed. The plastic is then shredded and further melted to make plastic bags, bottles and even jerseys. They can also be reformed to construct fencing.



3. Paper:
Paper is one of the easiest types of waste to recycle. The paper in the garbage is separated and combined with water and other chemicals to break it down completely. By chopping and heating this mixture into cellulose, the waste paper is turned into pulp with the help of huge pulping machines. This pulp is rolled with a desirable consistency to form paper again. You might have seen notebooks and textbooks made up of recycled paper. By processes like bleaching, the paper becomes white again.



4. Metal:
Industries dispose a huge amount of metal waste on a daily basis, so it becomes a necessary requirement to opt for proper recycling. Non-ferrous metals like bronze, copper, aluminum etc. have more value at scrap yards as compared to iron and steel. Scrap metal is passed through radiation detectors to separate radioactive scrap from rest of the scrap metal. The process is followed by shearing, that cuts the metals into manageable pieces with the help of a hydraulic machinery. Further, the metal is shredded and rotated in magnetic drums to separate ferrous and nonferrous scrap from each other.



Scrap metals processed in yards is transported to steel mills where further processing takes place.

Today, skip hire companies are just not taking your waste and sending them to landfill sites. They try to recycle 80% of the material by categorizing them by the nature of waste. As the result a very less percentage of waste ends up in landfills, benefiting the environment. However, it is important for you to know what you can put and what you can't in the skip. For example, electrical appliances like fridge, television, dishwashers and medical waste cannot be put in the skip. You need a licensed medical waste disposal providers in the UK for this purpose.

For more information, you can connect with the local service provider to know the rules and regulations. Compare the prices and request a quote today!