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Everything Old Is New AgainYou might think that once you throw out your garbage you’ve done your part to keep the world clean. In many ways you have however that garbage has to end up somewhere and that somewhere is usually a landfill. Landfills are the quintessential “thing” that nobody wants in their backyard. However, we just can’t function as a society without having a place to dump all of our garbage. That doesn’t mean we can’t be smart about dumping our garbage and that is how recycling was born. With the goal of reducing the mass of a landfill, recycling takes materials and converts them back to their raw form and find a way to repurpose those materials. You are already probably part of a recycling program in Columbus with a weekly pickup of your papers, plastic, glass, or aluminum cans. But what about all those items that might not make it into the recycling bin but are still worthy of recycling? That’s where landfill mining comes into play.
Landfill mining is a process whereby companies can take the garbage at a landfill and converted into fuel by burning it safely. But this is not always a profitable endeavor because of all the digging involved and because you just don’t know what you’ll be digging up. That’s why you’ll find many recycling centers located right next to a landfill. Savvy recycling companies can spot incoming truckloads of garbage and know if there is value in diverting that truck load from the landfill to the sorting center. Once that happens increase the chances of finding more reusable and recyclable materials.
One such operation can be found in the Ohio Valley facility where recycling and trash are processed under one roof. At this facility the recyclables are pre-sorted, baled and sent on to larger material recovery facilities (MRFs). Material from the Ohio Valley facility is usually transported to Columbus where it is refashioned into new product material.
Among one of the big items that calls for recycling are construction materials and furniture. Every construction site generates a lot of waste but that waste can still be put back into use if handled properly. For instance pieces of drywall can be ground up and used as drywall. The next time you’re at Home Depot check out the label on the drywall and you’ll probably find it has been made from recycled materials. This can also lower the cost of that drywall.
Recycling furniture is a bit more intensive of an operation. First of all, you need to hire a professional crew of junk haulers like Junk King Columbus to pick up your furniture and make sure it gets to the right recycling center. Once there, that furniture is broken down and separated into its different components. They’ll be a pile for the wood, the metal, the foam and all the other materials that went into the construction of that piece of furniture. Those piles are then shipped off to the appropriate repurpose and centers. You’ll be able to see this in action the next time you look at a label on a sofa or loveseat. It should tell you just how much of that has been made from recycled materials.
Budget tightening is not just an issue confronting the politicians in Washington, but everywhere across the country. Of course, those cuts coming from D.C. will have ripple effects reaching all the way into Columbus. Case in point: there is a plan being discussed to close 6 Columbus post offices. This is going to mean the loss of jobs and forcing other post offices to pick up the slack not to mention the inconvenience for the patrons. Perhaps the fault is not so much in budgeting cuts as it is with the need for proper organization. How many times have you been to the post office and it looks like things are just scattered everywhere? Have there been times when they can’t find a letter or parcel? Sure, they do an amazing job considering the volume of mail that moves through their system every day but we can all benefit from an “organizational sweep.”
Summertime in Columbus, Ohio is a great time for festivals. You simply can’t go a week without being able to sample one amazing festival after another. If you like the taste of good wine there will be plenty of opportunities at several wine festivals throughout the summer months. Fans of pulp fiction have their own gathering in the form of the new and improved PulpFest 2011. As for celebrating ethnic heritage there will Serbian, Irish and Latino festivals welcoming all Columbus residents to share in the music and food of these diverse cultures. There is also a smattering of jazz, rib and even a zucchini festival to enjoy. Is it any wonder that Columbus is the festival capitol of the Midwest?
Do you have a golfer in your life? Do you like to take to the links? As any seasoned golfer will tell you most of the game comes down to putting. There is no better way to perfect your putting skills than to have your own putting green in your Ohio backyard. That’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. In fact, there is a business in Columbus called Backyard Putting Greens (naturally) who has a simple philosophy: A green for every golfer. Here’s their mission statement: “No matter who you are, and regardless of your budget or space limitations, we intend to match you up with a system that will improve your score, your confidence and most of all, your simple enjoyment of the great game of golf.” They can turn any corner of a backyard into a professional quality putting green. Imagine the look of surprise on the golfer you love when they come home to find their own practice green waiting for them.
How do you plan on spending your summer vacation? Road trip? Water park? Camping out in the backyard? For a group of half-dozen volunteers their summer will be spent cleaning up roadside trash. The group is called “Pick Up America” and they started a cross country trek back in March 2010 and plan to end in San Francisco sometime next year. This summer, the group will be making their way through central Ohio bringing awareness to the issue of littering along our highways and byways.
We all love a good list, don’t we? Ever since “American Bandstand” brought us the Top Ten hits of the week, we’ve been embracing the idea of lists. There seems to be lists for everything from the best Columbus restaurants to the best Columbus dog groomers. Lists also help us stay organized. Do you think you could make it through the holiday season without a shopping list? And just try to remember all the items you would need for your Thanksgiving dinner without a grocery list. You’ll be running back and forth to the store without one!
There’s a simple reason why spring has become the traditional time for a major household clean-up: The weather. In the spring we can finally open up our windows and let the warm Ohio air in and the dust out! Although this year it’s not just houses in Columbus Ohio that are getting the spring cleaning treatment. Many dedicated residents are taking to the parks, highways and byways for a major clean-up effort.
If you love food (and who doesn’t?) you’ve got a great opportunity in Columbus to indulge in a walking culinary tour of the trendy Short North neighborhood. This is the hot spot in Columbus that is chock full of bistros, cafes, shops and restaurants. It’s also where you’ll find the North Market. This is Columbus’ only public farmers’ market. Here you’ll find local food vendors sharing their taste tempting treats. Speaking of treats, no walking tour of Short North could be complete without stopping off at Jeni’s for a scoop of fresh made ice cream. And since you’ll be walking through the neighborhood, you’ll be burning calories too! It’s a win/win all around.
Every summer, thousands of local Columbus Ohio residents and visitors flock to the shorelines of Grand Lake St. Marys for a relaxing time of sun and fun. However, last summer there was a nasty problem brewing on the pristine lake: Algae. In fact, a toxic blue-green algae that ended up making some swimmers sick. As distressing as this algae attack might have been, it was also a perfect example of the delicate balance of maintaining our environment. Scientists traced the outburst of algae to manure and chemical runoff. That runoff ran right into the lake increasing the levels of phosphorus. High phosphorus is the perfect treat that algae organisms like to munch on. And since a lake is essentially a sedentary body of water, that algae had a chance to feast away.
For a long time, attics have been getting a bad reputation. Most of this blame can be Hollywood’s fault. If it’s a horror movie and it’s in a house then it’s a safe bet that something scary is going to be living up in the attic. When you think about it, that makes sense. Our attics often become the depository of all our junk. Got an old trunk with grandma’s stuff in it? Up in the attic is goes. Got an old sewing mannequin that you’re not using? Up in the attic it goes. All those piles of the old clothes, books, furniture, ornaments and holiday decorations? You guessed it; up in the attic it goes. Clearly in the mind of a creative writer, anyone of those objects can be haunted!