New system does all garbage collection through underground vacuum tubes.
A few days ago I received this interesting article by email. System I still didn't know, and as I found the idea very interesting, today I post on the blog. an idea "wow" other, then.. Good reading!
One of the great problems of the modern world is traffic.. Another one is trash. Every day, thousands of tons of waste and packaging are placed in landfills in cities around the world, to be collected by trucks specially designed for this purpose.
Traffic that is already slow in itself becomes even slower due to the speeds of garbage trucks and their respective stops, necessary so that collection company workers can collect garbage bags from the streets.
Have you ever imagined how much better it would be if these garbage trucks were replaced by a much more discreet and practical collection system?? And if in addition, it could also automatically separate what can be recycled to be sent to specialized treatment stations?
This is something similar to what is being proposed by the Envac project (Swedish company creating and maintaining vacuum systems) to the city of Montreal. Until 2012, 8.2 Millions of dollars must be invested by the city for the underground garbage collection system to be completely installed.
And how it works?
The vacuum tube garbage collection system works based on six basic steps, some fully automated, but the first of them depends exclusively on the common sense of citizens - depositing rubbish in the correct bins. Cans, organic, glasses, plastics and papers, each has its own place, in the same way as today.
The dumps (which can be both in public places, as in private buildings) are connected to small pipes that send waste to larger pipes, which are below ground and take all the collected material to storage stations.
These underground pipes work with a vacuum to suck materials to collection stations.. It is interesting to know that there are correct times for the release of materials, i.e, while organic waste is sent, plastic waste is trapped, which prevents mixing of waste of different types.
With speeds of 45 miles per hour (about 72 Km/h), the materials are taken to large collection stations, where they are processed and compacted to be sent to recycling stations, also specialized in just one type of material, which avoids wasting electrical energy.
All of this is controlled by a single, automated center that can be located anywhere in the world., without the need for the center to be close to the stations. Operators must only monitor signs of damage to the system structure so that they can move to the correct locations.
If there is a problem with the tubes, Pressurization indicators indicate where it is and maintenance crews will be dispatched to check and repair possible damage.
This already exists?
If you've ever been to Disney, or have you read something about her?, Do you know that the amusement parks there are the cleanest in the world?. This is because there are very in-depth studies to ensure that the distance between one dumpster and another does not exceed what is bearable for tourists.. This way, no one has to walk too far with the waste in their hands until it is possible to dispose of it..
Furthermore, There are no human collectors to remove rubbish from the bins, everything is done automatically by a collection system using compressed air pipes, very similar to what is proposed by Envac. This Disney system is called HVAC and also processes and recycles materials.
If you want more “real” examples, in 1961 a garbage collection system with vacuum mechanisms was installed in Stockholm, in Sweden. Cities like London and Barcelona also already have some similar devices, but a city completely served by the process has not yet been made possible, therefore Montreal can be considered a pioneer.
Envac Group states that, if the system achieves success in Montreal, The company's next goal is to install vacuum garbage collection systems in several cities across the United States. This would be another step for society towards the future?