Food wastes, they are first mixed with garden wastes that are collected from farms,
they are then shredded together and left to
decompose for two or four weeks. After
that, they are exposed to a high temperature ( generally above 70 degrees Celsius
), to increase the activity of bacteria; to
help speed up the decomposition process.
Also to kill certain microbes that do not survive a temperature that is higher than 70
degrees, it is left for around three to four
months with regular turning to insure that
the decomposition process is complete, before it could be used as soil conditioner. If
these food wastes were left to decompose
naturally, they release methane gas which
has a strong negative impact on the environment, as it highly contributes to the process of global warming.
The most important material to be recycled
is plastic. Because of its strong negative impact on the environment , and since plastic
has become one of the most useable materials nowadays. Generally, plastic is shredded together, then it is washed before it is
melted and reshaped and reused as new
plastic. The main purpose of recycling plastic is to decrease its life span, because
plastic is one of the most dangerous forms
of waste, since it is not decompose naturalistically. As for paper, it is divided into different qualities. Chemicals such as hydrogen
peroxide are used on the paper to separate different fibers, they are then screened
to filter
items such
as staples,
paper clips,
etc... After
then, whitening agents
are used on
these fibers
t o re m o v e
ink remains,
and whiten
the paper.
The paper is
then heated
to dry the
water that
was used for washing in the drying step,
before running through a huge roller that re
flattens the paper to be used again.
About 20 cubic meters of disposable waste
is produced in the AUC New Cairo Campus. The environmental services director at
the AUC clarified that one cubic meter of
waste is equal to 700 kilograms. Garbage
is assembled twice a day and delivered to
these outside entities. The idea of using
separated waste was designed with the intention of helping development projects.
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