Our class went to the Global Renewables Centre (a place where rubbish gets sorted). We went into this circular building called the Learning Centre and went to the toilet and then went to an activity room. We were split into classes and 3AH went on the tour around the place where the rubbish got sorted and 3PH played some games to do with Earth and waste. After about 30 minutes 3PH moved onto the tour and 3AH played some games.
On the tour it got so complex that I couldn’t keep up really but here’s what I remembered:
1. Firstly, the rubbish trucks arrive and dump all their rubbish into a pit and this sort of claw puts it on a conveyor belt and it will go through the pre sorting.
2. Next, it’ll go through Trom 1 which is like a sieve with holes the size of your hand! If the rubbish stays on the sieve it is called the oversize. If the rubbish goes through the sieve it is called the undersize. If the rubbish falls through the holes, the rubbish will go to Tromol 2 which is exactly the same but with smaller holes and the rubbish will go through the Metal Tower which I will tell you about later. All the rubbish will go past a fan which will either blow the rubbish up or the rubbish carries on the conveyor belt. If it has a low weight (it is light), the fan will blow it up. If it has a high weight (it is heavy) the rubbish will continue to the conveyor belt.
3. After all that, the rubbish gets sorted AGAIN! But the undersize from Tromol 2 and didn’t go through the wind sifter (got blown by the fan) goes through the Metal Tower and separates the steel from the other rubbish, but the aluminum is still there! That’s why there’s an Eddie Current Separator! Both the Eddie Current Separator and the Metal Tower include magnets. The Eddie Current Separator spins a magnet so fast that it turns the aluminum into a magnet and when the North and North or the South and South meet the aluminum springs away from the real magnet going onto a different conveyor belt. The Metal Tower just uses a magnet normally.
Everything just splits up at that point but there is more that the rubbish goes through!
After that we had our 0% waste lunch. This means we had to all bring a packed lunch which used reusable things (like Tupperware containers) or recyclable things (like tin foil). There was a recycling bin, compost bin and a waste bin. Our waste bin was weighed. Our waste bin weighed about 1.6 grams. We came third out of all the schools!
I didn’t realize how complicated sorting rubbish was!
On the tour it got so complex that I couldn’t keep up really but here’s what I remembered:
1. Firstly, the rubbish trucks arrive and dump all their rubbish into a pit and this sort of claw puts it on a conveyor belt and it will go through the pre sorting.
2. Next, it’ll go through Trom 1 which is like a sieve with holes the size of your hand! If the rubbish stays on the sieve it is called the oversize. If the rubbish goes through the sieve it is called the undersize. If the rubbish falls through the holes, the rubbish will go to Tromol 2 which is exactly the same but with smaller holes and the rubbish will go through the Metal Tower which I will tell you about later. All the rubbish will go past a fan which will either blow the rubbish up or the rubbish carries on the conveyor belt. If it has a low weight (it is light), the fan will blow it up. If it has a high weight (it is heavy) the rubbish will continue to the conveyor belt.
3. After all that, the rubbish gets sorted AGAIN! But the undersize from Tromol 2 and didn’t go through the wind sifter (got blown by the fan) goes through the Metal Tower and separates the steel from the other rubbish, but the aluminum is still there! That’s why there’s an Eddie Current Separator! Both the Eddie Current Separator and the Metal Tower include magnets. The Eddie Current Separator spins a magnet so fast that it turns the aluminum into a magnet and when the North and North or the South and South meet the aluminum springs away from the real magnet going onto a different conveyor belt. The Metal Tower just uses a magnet normally.
Everything just splits up at that point but there is more that the rubbish goes through!
After that we had our 0% waste lunch. This means we had to all bring a packed lunch which used reusable things (like Tupperware containers) or recyclable things (like tin foil). There was a recycling bin, compost bin and a waste bin. Our waste bin was weighed. Our waste bin weighed about 1.6 grams. We came third out of all the schools!
I didn’t realize how complicated sorting rubbish was!