What are governments around the world doing to encourage the use of reusable bags?

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As awareness of the problems associated with the use of plastic bags increases worldwide, local and national authorities are beginning to take steps to eliminate their use. Some have imposed taxes on plastic bags and some have even banned them altogether. Countries that have started to adopt policies to discourage or eliminate the use of disposable bags include the western nations of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Australia and the United States; eastern countries such as China, Bhutan, India, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and Singapore; and African nations: Kenya, Uganda, Eritrea, Somaliland, Rwanda and South Africa. Shoppers around the world are now carrying reusable bags, and savvy store owners have stepped in by selling their own branded reusable bags at the checkout.

An innovative program in Ireland called ‘PlasTax’ for tax buyers who choose plastic bags has resulted in a 90% reduction in the use of plastic bags since the program began in 2002. On a per unit basis, this means 1 billion fewer plastic bags placed on the market each year. Under the program, the money raised by taxing plastic bags even serves an environmental purpose: funding environmental initiatives. PlasTax has been so successful that other governments have followed suit, making the use of reusable tote bags the norm and plastic bags the exception.

Some countries have laws regulating the thickness of the bags, such as China. In order to combat garbage and oil waste, the country’s council has banned the use of bags thinner than 24/1000 millimeters. The Chinese government also requires retailers to charge for thicker bags. In the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, all polyethylene bags are banned from both production and use, and anyone found carrying them could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison or a $ 2,000 fine. In 2003, Indian politicians announced that the bags were damaging the health of the soil and creating unsightly rubbish. Total bans were also favored in Paris, San Francisco, England, Australia, Singapore and Bangladesh.

A recent ban on the sale of plastic bags in San Francisco bans large grocery stores and chain pharmacies from using plastic shopping bags. They were replaced by paper bags and biodegradable bags, so the use of reusable bags is encouraged. Other cities considering bans include Austin, Annapolis, Bakersfield, Boston, New Haven, and Phoenix. While some consider these bans positive as overall pollution is reduced by keeping non-biodegradable waste away from the environment and the CO2 emissions of its production into the air, others argue that the bans do not significantly affect the amount of disposable bags used. whether they are paper bags or compostable bags, both of which have their own environmental drawbacks. It is important to understand that the San Francisco ban, while being a beginning, is actually only a partial ban. Thousands of small businesses will still be able to distribute all kinds of plastic bags. In summary, consumers themselves have the greatest strength to make the change simply by shopping with their own reusable bags.

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Source by David Kraft

How do I re-purpose blog posts into videos?

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This is the best place to find ideas for your movies. If you have an active blog, you can use Google Analytics to find out which blog posts get the most attention. Then you can use it to help come up with new ideas.

Find your most popular blogs

Using Google Analytics, determine which blog posts are currently generating the most traffic. These are the topics your audience wants to know more about.

Please remake the title

You can use the same title unless you change the format. For example, if this is a Top Ten post but you intend to break it down, you’ll want to clarify it in the title.

Choose the most important points

Too many points in a video can make it too long. As mentioned above, instead of taking the top ten list and turning it into a video, why not take one point from each of the top ten posts and turn them into ten separate videos.

Choose your technology

Will you need a good camera or will your webcam be good enough? Do you need editing technology to add images, music, and other features to your movie? Write down what you need to determine what technology is required.

Create slides

If you don’t want to just chat on video, create slides with a single sentence or point per slide that you plan to talk about. You want them to focus on what you say, not reading the slide.

Add visualizations

Images like infographics, memes, and charts work well in a video. People like to look not only at your head when they see a video. If you use good video editing software, you can add great images and slides without interrupting the video.

Add sound effects

Don’t make the music so loud when you say you can’t hear what you are saying. However, some free music will make your video look and sound more professional, especially in the introductory and final parts.

Add introduction and exit

Record an intro and ending that will be used in all of your videos to bring them together into one cohesive, valuable asset for your audience. But don’t do them for long; just a few seconds.

Promote your videos

Put the video in a new blog post with note, description and transcript. Then go back to the old blog post and link to the video under the old blog post that encouraged the making of the video.

Turning your old blog posts into videos should be the first method to move to adding video for your marketing. Video is more effective than any other form of content at getting more conversions. But you don’t want to replace everything with the video, you just want to add it.

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Source by Jon Allo

Analysis of the surface protection of disposable or reusable products in terms of economy and efficiency

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Times are tough today for builders and renovators, so preventing costly damage to carpets, doors, floors, and other interior finishes is critical to lowering construction costs and shortening completion times. Site managers can choose from two types of surface protection products; (a) one-off security features such as film and paper that can only be used once; or (b) reusable protection made of reinforced plastic or cotton fabrics. So what should a contractor choose?

Paper products such as rosin, Kraft papers, and corrugated board can be used for very short periods of time on surfaces such as floors and countertops, but are not recommended for extended use. While these disposable protective products are inexpensive and widely available, they lose their effectiveness with prolonged use. Considering the cost of installation, including gluing the seams and maintaining the product due to water infiltration or rupture during foot traffic, these paper products are not recommended for more than a day or two of use.

For some short-term applications, inexpensive disposable films are the most economical choice. Cheap, easy-to-install carpet film protects carpets most effectively for up to 45 days. The rolls are wound up the other way round for easy installation and protect carpets for up to 45 days. Foils are also the best choice for vertical protection of stainless steel elevator doors and some plumbing fixtures. When films do not provide sufficient protection, thicker disposable adhesive products are needed. Protecta-foam is a thick, disposable, self-adhesive foam that is easy to install and remove, and can save builders thousands of dollars in costly repairs. Protects cabinets, stainless steel appliances, countertops and other sensitive surfaces.

Wooden floors and stairs are the two surfaces where thick, long-term protection makes the greatest financial sense. The high cost of wood materials and installation, coupled with the repair costs, make them worth the extra cost of long-term protection. While site managers may be tempted to opt for cheaper, one-off protection measures, the cost savings may not add up when comparing the top performance of reusable products for the protection of expensive floors. They tend to be thicker and more durable, plus they are convenient when they are on hand when needed for a new job. .

There are several products on the market for the protection of wooden floors with a thickness of 30 to 50 mm. Clean and Safe ™ is a reusable floor protection made of recycled materials. A slip-resistant underlay keeps it in place on wooden floors. For wooden stairs, the multi-purpose runner makes sense as it has a self-adhesive bottom that keeps the protection in place and ensures it won’t leave a sticky residue when removed. Both of these products are available from several US distributors

Several products on the market combine the low cost of disposable protection with the advantages of thicker reusable protection. Compressed cardboard door protectors such as DoorGuard ™, edge protectors and window sill protectors are inexpensive and reusable. These products are made from recycled cardboard and can be recycled themselves, making them an excellent choice for green construction.

Recently launched surface protection products include fireproof, heavy-duty plastic floor protections such as Coverguard®. As much of the commercial construction industry has concentrated on building hospitals, there has been an increased need for fire-resistant products. Bainbridge, manufacturer of Coverguard®, has seen an opportunity for its boat deck manufacturing in the construction industry and is now selling floor protection through local distributors. When converting hospitals, it is also necessary to use fire-resistant plastic films for dust control. While fireproof products are safer on all construction sites, they are much more expensive and therefore unprofitable unless absolutely necessary.

How does the site manager know which products are the most profitable? The best advice is to contact your local surface protection expert to discuss your specific project, including how long protection will be required and how many workers will be on site. Product specialists work closely with site managers and remodelers to help them choose the best value products.

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Source by Patricia Mullen

The history of reusable shopping bags

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Reusable shopping bags, such as woven and non-woven PP bags, as well as various other eco-based bags, have gained immense popularity in the past few years. However, the history of such bags goes back to 2005 or even 2000, when the movement of green shopping bags began to gain momentum that can be seen around the world today. In fact, reusable bag manufacturers started producing tote bags as early as the 1990s. Over the years, these bags have undergone notable improvements in terms of what components are made of, how much they cost, and their popularity in modern society.

The real story of these kinds of bags begins in 1977, when disposable plastic bags began to be used all over the world, starting with the United States. Despite the fact that disposable bags were originally considered a good replacement for paper bags to save trees, consumers quickly realized that bags were causing pollution to lakes, rivers and oceans. In the early 1990s, manufacturers of reusable bags founded companies all over the world.

Initially, these shopping bags took many forms and were made of materials ranging from cotton to nylon. However, in the mid-1990s, the material identified as polypropylene began to gain an advantage. Such bags, called PP woven grocery bags, are exactly what is used in many modern retail chains. The original type of bag production using this material was non-woven PP shopping bags, although now woven PP bags are also used. The reason this particular material took the lead in the reusable bag manufacturing market is because it was cheap and could be manufactured for less than $ 0.25 per bag while being quite durable. In the past, customers have felt comfortable paying $ 0.99 to $ 2.99 per bag in US dollars.

Productivity has increased since 1999. Nearly 3 billion bags have been imported into the United States since 1999, according to the US International Trade Commission’s database of imports. Also in countries such as Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. However, we can expect that these numbers are likely to continue to rise – not only in these countries, but around the world. . In addition to the environmentally friendly trend, green shopping bags are increasingly used, and we are also seeing the trend in legislation. .

Cities or provinces in the United States, Mexico, Great Britain, Australia, and many others have recently passed laws supporting the use of reusable shopping containers. While others have even gone so far as to ban single-use carrier bags, other countries have introduced excise duties on disposable carrier bags while subsidizing environmentally friendly carrier bags. Most of these laws have proven to be very effective in improving the use of PP tote bags as well as many other materials that make eco-friendly bags.

Today, bags are not only a legal and environmental trend, but also a fashion trend. Reusable tote bag manufacturers add a lot of customization that allows people to show off their personality with their bags. It is estimated that the upward trend in the use of reusable shopping bags will continue to be strong over the years.

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Source by Tran Bing

Paper products and their impact on the environment

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Some of the environmental problems that arise from the production and disposal of paper include air and water pollution, high energy consumption, heavy landfilling and deforestation. To keep our environmental impact to a minimum, we need to change the way we view paper products and start reusing and recycling them in a way that is safer for the environment. Some of these ways include using reusable grocery bags, buying products made from recycled paper, and using towels and napkins instead of paper versions.

To really make an impression on the way we reuse or recycle our paper products, we need to look at our daily use of paper. Are you writing your shopping list on a new piece of paper? Are you using a cloth to wipe up spilled liquids or are you reaching for the easy option of a paper towel and throwing it in the trash? By choosing an environmentally safe option, you significantly reduce the impact you will have on our environment.

Only half of the paper we throw away is recycled, the other half ends up in landfill, and it can take years to decompose. When mills produce recycled paper, they use 40% less energy and do not contribute to deforestation, although more fossil fuels are needed to make recycled products. Recycling paper into new products is a way to ensure the safety and cleanliness of our environment, the use of reusable products such as reusable bags will have a greater impact on the environment and paper products will not be disposed of as easily or will not be needed. they will be needed as much as it is now.

Have you thought about the chemicals that are used in paper products that have been bleached and their environmental impact? Bleached paper products are made of chlorine, which can cause dioxin, a highly toxic chemical that can cause cancer and birth defects in humans. Paper mills release these chemicals along with other pollutants such as sulfur oxides and carbon monoxide into our waterways by contaminating sewage, contaminating our water and the organisms living in these waterways, possibly poisoning people. Paper mills are the largest industrial polluters in North America. By using reusable grocery bags instead of paper or plastic bags, we will help minimize the environmental impact that arises from the papermaking process.

Finally, papermaking is a major cause of deforestation. To minimize this effect, paper mills should try to use clean paper shavings – wood from tree crops or old forests, or implement better paper recycling programs to minimize their environmental impact.

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Source by David Kraft

Mobile phones – from analog to digital

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When the first mobile phones hit the market, many people were amazed at the advancement of their technology. Indeed, it was just amazing that very little communication equipment could send and transmit messages by voice. This was clearly more beneficial than the two-way radio that was the vogue these days where you could only call base stations and other radios users connected to your channel. Most people who use two-way radios are hobbyists or employees of a company that has a base of contact with field workers to monitor their whereabouts. The advantage of the mobile phone compared to these two-way radios is the longer operating range of the mobile phone, while the two-way radiotelephone has a limited operating range.

However, at this stage, mobile phones, even though they were already using cellular technology by reusing channels, were still considered baby phones as the carrier they are using is analog technology. But first, so that you can better understand how the cell phone works, let me explain the concept of channel reuse. You see, radio signals operate on a certain frequency. These radio signals, to be free from interference, should operate on a different frequency. As with a specific radio frequency at 120 MHz, a different radio frequency should be on a different frequency to avoid signal mixing with a radio signal that is already operating at 120 MHz. However, in the case of mobile phones, many of these units operate on the same frequency, thanks to the principle of channel reuse, so that mobile phones are used by many people. Reusing the channels was made possible by providing limited power to each cell phone unit and providing multiple cell sites or towers. In this way, the mobile phone can only transmit and receive the signal to the nearest cell station or the nearest tower and does not affect another cell station in a different location, allowing other cell phones on the same channel to send and receive signals on other cell sites or towers without interference.

Now that you know how a cell phone works, let’s go back to the first medium used by cell phones, which is an analogue radio frequency transmission system. These types of radio signal carriers are the uplink and downlink radio frequencies that were used in all forms of radio messages before the advent of digital technology. A very good example of these signals can be seen in operating theaters in hospitals, which are usually shown on television and in movies of near-death, showing the up and down movement of moving light on a monitor graph. The moving up and down light is an analog signal frequency representing the sound of the patient’s heartbeat.

As digital signals became available for use in radio communication, it was found that the channel reuse system used in cell phones is more suited to using a digital signal handling system as digital is not susceptible to interference unlike analog. Therefore, telecommunications companies soon began rebuilding their signaling system, adapting it to the digital signal delivery system in mobile phones.

It was at this stage that a communications company in England was able to develop a digital communication system known as Short Messaging Service or SMS for use on cell phones using a digital signal delivery system. Incidentally, SMS could only be possible with a digital operator, but never possible with the old system that was an analog operator. The development of SMS or SMS functions in mobile phones was designed for use by deaf and dumb segments of the community. But now we know what happened to this kind of communication intended for the deaf.

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Source by Sherry Khan

Reusable hand warmers vs disposable hand warmers: choosing the right type

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Portable hand warmers provide warm comfort to people scrubbing items. There are two main categories of portable hand warmers, disposable and reusable, and there is some cost-benefit analysis involved in selecting a category. This article does just that.

A Google search was used to find the price range of disposable and reusable hand warmers. Many experts believe that people usually only view the first three pages of a search engine, so only the first three pages have been analyzed. The keyword ‘portable hand warmers’ was used to search for disposable items and the keyword ‘battery operated hand warmers’ was used for multiple use. The price range for single-use items fell between $ 0.26 and $ 0.59 apiece. The price range for reusable items fell between $ 39.50 and $ 59.99.

Now suppose a consumer has purchased two portable hand warmers, disposable and reusable, and obtained the cheapest price for both. Also suppose a consumer uses both products 500 times because that is how many times a reusable product can be used without signs of diminished performance (according to one of the manufacturer’s instructions). Over 500 uses, the consumer will spend $ 130 more on disposables. Of course, this does not include the cost of multiple visits to the retailer to purchase disposable items. Reusable products have a distinct cost advantage over disposables when they are used frequently. However, for the infrequent user, disposable items make more sense (just as a disposable camera is for people who rarely use a camera).

That includes the cost part of the analysis, and now it’s time to discuss the benefits. Reusable devices last up to 10 hours, and single-use devices up to 18 hours. In other words, disposable items can last for any hour that a person is awake. Reusable, they require more selective use. Reusable materials also require an energy source to recharge. Reusable, they are only practical for day trips and not weekly camping trips without an energy source. Overall, reusable hand warmers are more cost effective if used frequently, but disposable products have more flexibility to use.

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Source by Chris Topping

Recycling of batteries for electric cars

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While car makers continue to struggle in the electric car race, some have wondered where the batteries will end up when they reach the end of their automotive life? Merely dumping the battery in some type of landfill will not help the environment, and it will certainly not appeal to car manufacturers or customers. To tackle this problem, several major car makers in the electric car race have teamed up with electricity and energy knowledgeable companies to plan ways to recycle and reuse outdated electric car batteries and their energy.

General Motors has announced that it will work with Swiss company ABB, a leader in energy and automation technology and the world’s largest supplier of power grid systems, to develop a reuse plan for Chevrolet Volt batteries. . The companies will develop several pilot projects and test 16-kWh Volta Li-ion batteries to see how second-life automotive batteries can be used to provide electricity storage systems. During pilot projects, companies will study renewable energy storage, grid load management, community backup power, and time management.

According to GM’s electrical systems executive Micky Bly, “the Volt’s battery will have considerable capacity to store electricity, even after its automotive life.” This means that after the eight-year or 100,000-mile warranty offered on the Volt, the battery will still have energy that can be used for other purposes if the car battery is recycled. Therefore, the ultimate goal of GM in partnership with ABB is to find a cost effective solution that will optimize the full life cycle of the battery and improve the efficiency of the national electricity grid.

Another car manufacturer that has started exploring recycling options for electric batteries is Nissan. Nissan has entered into a joint venture with Sumitomo Corporation to conduct research on spent lithium-ion batteries. A joint venture called 4R Energy aims to reuse, resell, refurbish and recycle the electric batteries that power the Nissan Leaf.

The company is expected to conduct demonstration tests and conduct a commercialization study as it works to develop its lithium-ion battery reuse business.

Finally, Californian electric car maker Tesla Motors launched a research project with SolarCity, the national leader in solar design and installation, and the University of California, Berkeley, to explore the possibility of obsolete electric car batteries. Trio is developing a system that will combine Tesla’s electric car battery system with the SolarCity monitoring platform to produce an advanced interactive photovoltaic (PV) system and stationary energy storage that can be installed in buildings. The idea is that the created battery stores will accumulate excess PV energy that the company can use, rather than using power plants with higher emissions.

So, while the electric car race continues, it looks like General Motors, Nissan and Tesla Motors will be competing in the electric car race as well. With ideas as big as renewable energy storage, smart grids and back-up power for buildings, who knows where the second life of electric car batteries will end.

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Source by Albert Hunter

Advantages of reusable sandwich bags over plastic bags

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Plastic is a very complex thing. It is also very apt that the adjective used to describe people with an aura of “false” as plastic. This is because plastic is essentially fake and man-made.

Plastic is a by-product of oil. Yes, it is the same oil that is used to clean the gasoline that powers our cars, planes and power plants. The same toxic, harmful substance that we all know comes from the same family as the substance we use to package food and drink!

However, unlike oil, which takes millions of years to form but little time to evaporate and spread, plastic takes both millions of years to form and millions of years to decompose. This is because plastic is what chemistry calls a polymer. A polymer is a long chain of molecules linked together and held together by incredibly strong bonds that are very difficult to break. That is why plastic is such a durable and versatile material.

While plastic has many uses, food packaging is one area where it is used too freely. In fact, studies linking heating food in plastic packaging to carcinogenicity have been carried out.

So, when our food is packed in a plastic bag, it comes into contact with the same materials that make gasoline and diesel fuel! Plastic is also full of nasty chemicals like BPA (Bisphenol-A) and phthalates (see glossary section) that have harmful long-term effects.

These harmful effects are just those that directly affect our body. The damage that plastic does to the environment is manifold. While most natural materials, such as food waste, paper, and the like, break down quickly (that is, they are easily digested by microbes and bacteria and broken down into smaller particles), plastic is virtually indigestible – pun intended! It is estimated that families in the United States alone throw away over 200 million tons of plastic waste every day! Plastic bags contribute a lot to this!

By using reusable sandwich bags (brands such as LunchSkins and EcoDitty are great examples) that are made of food-safe fabrics and cotton, our food not only comes into contact with safer, natural materials, as fabrics and cotton are grown naturally, and not chemically manufactured, but reusable sandwich bags are washable so they can be used repeatedly. They will be like new every time! They also won’t add non-biodegradable and non-degradable materials to our already clogged landfills.

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Source by Shabbir U Nooruddin

Steps to reuse old kitchen cabinets as garage cabinets

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If you’ve decided to remodel your kitchen, then you’ve thought about what you’ll do with all your old furniture once you’ve taken it out. If you don’t want to throw away your old cabinets, you can think about reusing them as garage cabinets. Your garage will not only look cleaner and tidy, but all your items will also stay clean.

Here are the steps to reuse old kitchen cabinets as garage cabinets:

• First step – After removing the cabinets from the kitchen, arrange them the way you want them to appear in the garage. Be sure to measure the cabinets and draw lines where they will hang.

• Second step – Next you will install garage cabinets. Mark where the dowels are in the wall, and if the walls are made of poured concrete, you’ll drill 1×4 nail strips into them. If you want, you can paint the walls white to let more light into the garage.

• Third step – choose the corner from which to start and start assembling the first cabinet. Be sure to remove the door beforehand to make your work easier. You will need someone to help keep the cabinet in place so you can screw it securely to the wall.

• Step 4 – If you want 2 layers of cabinets you should start with the top cabinet. Make sure the bottom cabinet is aligned with the top cabinet. Continue to work along the wall until you finish installing both the top and bottom cabinets.

• Step five – Now you will have to connect the garage cabinets together. To do this, squeeze the front frames together and connect them with a screw, making sure that the screw goes from one frame to the other. When done, put the doors back on the cabinets. Since you probably won’t have enough cabinets to cover all of your wall space, you can install boards on top of them for a better look and more storage space for tools or sprays.

• Step 6 – If you choose to install planks as workbenches, you will need plywood to match your open spaces. Measure the area before looking for the wood. You’ll want the boards to protrude a bit more than the cupboards.

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Source by Hannah Fritzie Remington