Five Cool Ways to Turn Trash Into Treasure

 When we think of waste, we don’t usually think utility. Yet, as we face droughts, limited landfill space, and depleting¹ natural resources, we’ve been forced to reconsider our castoffs, with interesting results. These five case studies show that with innovation and a little planning, our dumps, sewers³, and piles of manure⁴ are not necessarily the end of the line. Instead, they’re just the beginning.

1. Sewage into Showers

Last summer, while the rest of the southwest was grappling with one of the most severe droughts in recorded history, a county in Georgia was sitting high on the water table. Twenty years ago, Clayton County recognized that growth and limited rainfall would make a water shortage inevitable⁵, so they built a unique water treatment center to ensure reservoirs would remain full even in a drought. The center incorporates a 4,000-acre wetland, where treated wastewater runs through a serious of graded pools surrounded by thick vegetation to help filter out any leftover⁶ toxins⁷. Clean water then runs into reservoirs for future use. With this system, the county is able to reclaim⁸ ten million of the twenty-six million gallons of water used annually⁹. Although the treatment center requires a significant amount of open space, it’s cheaper than building a regular treatment plant and doubles as a nature preserve.

2. Garbage Power

If one person’s trash is another’s treasure, then our collective trash may be worth its weight in gold—or at least oil. That’s because when trash decomposes¹⁰ in landfills, it releases methane¹¹, a polluting gas that is traditionally dealt with by incineration or allowed to escape. Instead of letting this gas escape and pollute the air, some waste management companies are employing a capture and purification system that allows them to convert the landfill gas (LFG) into energy.

In California, LFG is fueling over 300 of the same garbage trucks that collect the trash. At an East Kentucky Power Cooperative, they use landfill gas to generate enough power to fuel 7,500–8,000 homes. And the University of New Hampshire is planning on getting 80 to 85 percent of its total energy from a nearby landfill.

According to the EPA, there were approximately 445 operational LFG projects in the United States in 2007.

3. Poo Power

If we can generate energy from a dump, then it only seems logical that we can generate energy from the ultimate waste product—poop. Manure is the fifth largest contributor to methane emissions¹² in the U.S., but the waste product doesn’t have to be a nuisance; instead, it can be converted into energy rich biogas and useful byproducts. At the AA Dairy in New York, for instance, manure and animal bedding (newspaper, hay) are scraped from the barn into a digester where the methane is collected and processed, ultimately generating enough power to run the farm with some leftover to sell. The solid waste is composted and sold, providing a dual¹³ financial incentive¹⁴. And farms aren’t the only industries to benefit from manure methane. Long-Trail Brewing¹⁵ Company, located in cow dense¹⁶ Vermont, will soon be getting all of its energy from dairy farm manure, while the farm gets a waste product from the brewery—mash, a mixture of barley¹⁷ and water, which is used as cow feed.

There are approximately 114 farm-scale biogas systems in operation.

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4. Cut Back on Grass

In 1994, Montgomery County, Alabama imposed a ban on the disposal of yard trimmings, which accounted for 18 percent of the solid waste heading to a landfill. However, their composting facility couldn’t handle the influx¹⁸ of new material, so they instead promoted source reduction with grasscycling (leaving trimmings on lawn instead of bagging for pick-up), backyard composting, and mulching. Instead of throwing away a rich source of nutrients¹⁹, residents and businesses were encouraged to incorporate them back into their yards. In addition to yard waste, they also implemented²⁰ a separate program for food scraps²¹, which included using worm composting as a teaching tool at school cafeterias. The program resulted in more than 50,000 tons of waste being grasscycled or composted in 1994. By reducing and reusing waste, the county saved close to one million dollars in processing costs and avoided having to do a 2.5 million dollar expansion of existing facilities. 

5.Fried Fuel

Much of the oil, grease, and fat used for frying and cooking in restaurants is discarded in a landfill, or worse, sent down the drain. However, used cooking oil (not to be confused with biofuels, like ethanol, which are made from pure vegetable oil) can be used to fuel cars and other machinery²². A 2004 report by the International Energy Agency estimates that the U.S. could make 500 million gallons of biodiesel a year from its waste grease. Used cooking oil is so in demand that it has even spurred a rash of yellow grease thieves, who steal old oil from restaurants. Even the gunk known as brown grease has utility—a company in Philadelphia, Fry-O-Diesel, has figured out how to make biodiesel from sewer² grease traps.

Numerous other examples abound—household greywater systems turning used shower water into backyard irrigation; old tires turned into a source of fuel; clothing, bottles, benches, etc., made of recycled plastics. For those that strive for resource efficiency, these types of programs are inherently attractive, both from a financial and logical perspective. Yet, except for traditional recycling, many of these waste reuse programs are remarkable²³ because they are not widespread. But with new technology and an eye on making money from what would otherwise be waste, we’ll likely be seeing our refuse used in entirely²⁴ new ways.

1 depleting   

使大大的减少，使空虚( deplete的现在分词 )； 耗尽，使枯竭

参考例句：

• Regulations are outlawing certain refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons, which contain ozone-depleting chemicals. 随后出台的政策禁用了部分制冷剂，如破坏臭氧层的氟氯碳化合物。
• Aging, being a series of continual losses, can be keenly depleting. 老龄化，作为一个系列的连续亏损，可以清楚地消耗。

2 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

3 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

5 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

6 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

7 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

9 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

10 decomposes   

腐烂( decompose的第三人称单数 )； （使）分解； 分解（某物质、光线等）

参考例句：

• The debris slowly decomposes into compost. 这些垃圾慢慢地分解成了堆肥。
• Plastic is a substance that hardly decomposes in the nature. 塑料是一种在自然中极难降解的物质。

11 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

12 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

13 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

14 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

15 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

16 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

17 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

18 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

19 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

21 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

22 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

23 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

24 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。