Eco Ranger Smk 24 (2): July 2011

Composting has more going for it than almost any other single green living practice I can think of.

Instead of sending your food and yard scraps to the landfill, you throw them in a heap or bin with some other materials where they decompose. When the compost is "mature," you use it on your garden and/or potted plants to help them grow. If you can't make use of it yourself, you donate or sell it to those who can.

There are so many benefits to home composting, I have to make a list:

Composting reduces the amount of waste you send to the landfill. An Environmental Protection Agency report from 2007 estimates that Americans could keep 140 pounds of waste per person per year out of the landfill by composting. What's the trouble with landfills? See the sidebar to learn.
Composting turns your waste into a useful product—and it does so without requiring additional resources. Compare this to recycling, where energy must be used to transport waste to the municipal recycling facility, sort the waste, transport it to manufacturers, produce new products with it, and then send the finished products back in the other direction—to stores and, ultimately, homes and businesses.
Using compost in your garden reduces the need for water and fertilizers and helps eliminate the need for pesticides. The reasons, in a nutshell, are that compost improves the soil's moisture management, regulates the soil's pH, provides nutrients on a slow-release basis and suppresses certain plant diseases. In addition, it can bind and degrade some pollutants in the plant's growing environment and help control erosion.
Composting provides you with a valuable experiential lesson in the cycles of nature and the folly of our throwaway culture that is likely to lead to other waste-saving measures as time goes by. It's also a great way to teach environmental stewardship to kids if you get them involved.

What all this adds up to is a beautiful garden and a more sustainable household for you—and healthier soil, cleaner water and a more stable climate for us all.

Do you have reservations that composting can work for you? Let me address some common concerns.

Time/Complexity. If you're worried that composting takes too much time—or requires learning about complicated brown/green (carbon/nitrogen) ratios—have no fear. There is a laissez-faire method called cold composting that's just for you. While it works slowly and does not necessarily produce compost of the highest order, it will still enrich your soil and put your waste to good use in the process. Those with a more gung-ho attitude—and a need for quicker results—should try hot composting.

Cost. Over the long haul, the money you save in garden maintenance—from lower water, fertilizer and pesticide bills—should more than cancel out any composting start-up expenses. Moreover, start-up expenses can be kept very low. Compost bins can be had for very little money or you can build your own bin or go with a compost pile, trench or hole. That leaves the price of a few tools, which, depending on the type of composting you do, might include such things as a compost turner, compost thermometer and container for kitchen scraps.

No Yard. Even if you live in an apartment without a balcony, much less a yard, you can still compost kitchen scraps indoors, using a technique called vermiculture, which is, essentially, composting with worms. Sadly, you won't be able to apply the finished compost to a garden of your own—unless you have a plot in a community garden—but you can use it for your house plants, give it to friends or donate it to a local school or park, among other places. Compost can even be given away on freecycle or sold on ebay.

Bad Back/Lack of Strength. You do not have to be a fit young thing in order to turn and aerate the compost. A type of bin known as a compost tumbler will enable you to turn it without strain. Some patient folks don't bother turning it at all, knowing that everything decomposes eventually.

Pests. You can take preventative measures to discourage pests that pose a problem in your area, such as keeping meat, dairy, grains and oils out of your compost; covering all "greens" with a thick layer of "browns"; aerating the compost frequently; using a pest-resistant bin; siting the bin appropriately; and wrapping the bin in hardware cloth—plus other steps to deter bears. Or you can compost your food scraps indoors (see above).

So, what are you waiting for? Earth Day's right around the corner. And even if it weren't, the time to begin composting is now.

WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING???

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century, and it is projected to continue.

Increasing global temperature will cause the sea levels to rise, and is expected to increase the intensity of extreme weather events. Other effects of global warming include changes in agricultural yields, trade routes, glacier retreat, many species extinctions and increases in the ranges of diseases.

The increasing frequency of heat waves in the temperate zones, typhoons, hurricanes and floods are signs of the changing weather and climate patterns and all these come about largely due to global warming -a combination of the greenhouse effect and other natural phenomena like solar variation and volcano eruptions. Unless drastic measures are taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global warming will continue to worsen. more details...

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 77,000 deaths are recorded annually in the Asia-Pacific region due to health problems arising from global warming. Among the potential hazards of global warming would be the appearance of mosquitoes in areas where they are previously absent with the accompanying threat of malaria and dengue fever. There is also the risk of reduced rainfall in some regions causing a shortage of fresh water thus introducing the danger of waterborne diseases.

However, global warming can be reduced by using garbage enzymes. So do your bit and help reduce global warming for a cooler and healthier living environment for all of us! Help save Our Earth!

WHAT IS GARBAGE ENZYME

What is Garbage Enzyme?Dr Rosukon's Garbage Enzyme is a complex organic substance of protein chains and mineral salts and juvenile hormones.

Functions of Garbage Enzyme

- resolve / decompose

- transform / change

- compose / make up / combine

- catalysis

As a result of catalysis, ozone is produced which can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and this in turn reduces global warming. This enzyme can be produced easily with the organic waste from our kitchens. During enzyme production, O₃+ NO₃+CO₃are generated and these could help purify and whiten the clouds in the sky. Those clouds that trap lots of heavy metals appear dark. Those dark clouds cause more heat to be trapped on earth due to the greenhouse effect. O₃(ozone) from the garbage enzymes could reduce the heavy metals in the clouds and this would reduce global warming. More NO₃(nitrite) in the air is useful as nutrients for the plants and soil.

If every household makes and uses enzymes, it would help tremendously in the reduction of global warming.

MUSIC FROM THE TREE..

How are the cans recycled ???

1. Aluminium cans are:

Shredded, removing any coloured coating
Melted in a huge furnace
The molten metal is poured into ingot casts to set. Each ingot can be made into around 1.5m cans

NB: Aluminium foil is a different alloy and is usually recycled separately with other aluminium scraps to make cast items such as engine components, where it makes a big contribution to making vehicles lighter and more energy efficient.

2. Steel cans are:

Put into the furnace where molten iron is added

Oxygen is then blasted into the furnace which heats up to around 1700 degrees centigrade

The liquid metal is poured into a mould to form big slabs which are then rolled into coils

These coils are used to make all sorts of steel products such as bikes, cars, bridges, paperclips or even new food and drink cans.

How the Glass is Recycled ???

1. Once glass is collected and taken to be reprocessed, it is:

Crushed and contaminants removed (mechanised colour sorting is usually undertaken at this stage if required)

Mixed with the raw materials to colour and/or enhance properties as necessary

Melted in a furnace

Moulded or blown into new bottles or jars

The Recycling Process

Recycling is the process of collecting certain materials that would otherwise be considered waste — like old metal, paper, wood, or plastic for example — and turning them into new “recycled” products.

The first step required for recycling is collecting recyclable materials from communities. Today many major cities and larger communities offer a curbside pick up service for recyclable materials.

Families who recycle items such as paper, bottles and cans, place the items in recycling collection bins. These bins usually have the recycling symbol on them. This is one of the most important steps for recycling because if people do not separate their recyclable materials from their trash then the materials will not be recycled. Instead they will be sent to the landfill with other trash.

Apart from the items you may recycle at home, many other things such as old tires, computers, mattresses, cars and more are recycled for parts and materials.

The second step involves processing the recyclable materials. This includes sorting the materials into groups, cleaning them and getting them ready to be sold to manufacturers who will turn the materials into new products.

Manufacturing is the third step in the recycling process. Today many products are made out of either total or partial post consumer (recycled) materials. Many items you may see every day are made from recycled materials. Newspapers, paper towels, office paper, plastic bottles and aluminum cans are not only made of recycled materials, but they can also be recycled again.

The last step, but certainly not the least, involves the purchasing of recycled products. When consumers purchase products that have been made with post consumer material the recycling process has been completed and can then be repeated. If you have the choice to purchase a product made from recycled materials, instead of one that was not, what do you think you should do? It takes education and awareness to remember to recycle and purchase recycled products.

The best way to avoid wasting valuable resources is to reduce consumption in the first place. For items that are used and can’t be re-used, recycling offers many benefits.

Recycling helps reduce the amount of trash that is disposed of in landfills. Recycling, rather than throwing things away, is also better for the environment. Currently it is believed that the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere is causing global warming which can have devastating long term effects. Recycling is one of many ways that people can cut down the amount of carbon dioxide that is released into our atmosphere. Purchasing recycled paper is also better for the environment because it takes less energy to produce recycled paper and saves some trees along the way.

One of the best things you can do is learn more about recycling, and especially to spread the word and encourage others to recycle as much as possible. Does your family recycle? It is never to late to start conserving our precious resources.

Garbage Enzyme Project

Our objectives :

To the students know that we can make something useful with the waste materials.
Can save the cost.
Reduce the amount of using the chemicals and balance the ecosystem.

It can effectively used as:

as a household cleaning liquid

to remove foul odors, molds and grime in the kitchen and toilet

as an anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent

to drive away insects

to clean carpets and remove ticks

for laundry washing and ironing

for mopping floors

for cleaning cars

Garbage Enzyme

How to Make Garbage Enzyme

Black sugar is needed for making garbage enzyme. Brown or any raw unprocessed sugar can also be used but never use white sugar.

Kitchen waste is another ingredient used for the production of garbage enzyme. Leftover cooked food from meals like vegetables is usable too but rinse off any gravy or sauces from them first before using. Never use any kind of meat! Fruit skins should be taken from fruits like apple, orange, pineapple, pear, watermelon, grape, lemon, guava but don't use durians!



An example: Add 300g of sugar + 900g of fruit skins + 3000g of water and mix well in a 5000cc plastic bottle and cap tightly. Keep in a cool dry place at room temperature. Release the gases formed once a day for the first month. Make sure it is re-capped tightly each time after the gas release. For the 2nd and 3rd months, only release any gases if necessary. Sometimes, there is a white layer on the surface of the enzyme solution during fermentation. Should worms appear in your enzyme solution, don't panic. Add in a handful of sugar, mix well and cap the bottle tightly. They will disappear overnight!

These bottles contain kitchen waste with sugar and water. Fermentation will take place in the bottles for 3 months. Then after filtration and removal of the residue, garbage enzyme is obtained. The residue can be used again for a new batch of production by adding fresh garbage. The residue can also be dried, then blended and buried in the ground as a fertilizer.

These bottles of garbage enzyme are ready for dilution with water to be used.

Recycle

Our objectives :

Inculcate the sense of responsbility to the young generations.
Instil the love to the environment.
Community awareness of the importance of environmental.

In the recycle's chamber.

Thank God we managed to get 4th place ;)

Heal The World

Think about the generations and to say we want to make it a better
world for our children and our children's children. So that they know
it's a better world for them; and think if they can make it a better
place.

There's a place in your heart
And I know that it is love
And this place could be much
Brighter than tomorrow.
And if you really try
You'll find there's no need to cry
In this place you'll feel
There's no hurt or sorrow.
There are ways to get there
If you care enough for the living
Make a little space, make a better place.

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for
You and for me.

If you want to know why
There's a love that cannot lie
Love is strong
It only cares for joyful giving.
If we try we shall see
In this bliss we cannot feel
Fear or dread
We stop existing and start living
Then it feels that always
Love's enough for us growing
Make a better world, make a better world.

And the dream we would conceived in
Will reveal a joyful face
And the world we once believed in
Will shine again in grace
Then why do we keep strangling life
Wound this earth, crucify it's soul
Though it's plain to see, this world is heavenly
Be God's glow.

We could fly so high
Let our spirits never die
In my heart I feel
You are all my brothers
Create a world with no fear
Together we'll cry happy tears
See the nations turn
Their swords into plowshares
We could really to get there
If you cared enough for the living
Make a little space to make a better place.

There are people dying if you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me.
There are people dying if you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me.

You and for me / Make a better place
You and for me / Heal the world we live in
You and for me / Save it for our children