Comments on: Rainwater Tanks That Can’t Be Recycled: A Note from Don Matthews

By: Sustainable Future

Sustainable Future — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:16:52 +0000

Nonsense like this doesn’t help people who are genuinely interested in the environment deal with the problems of the future. Plastics are recycled every day! This guy needs to get a life or focus on the real problems in the environment.

By: spangled drongo

spangled drongo — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:49:08 +0000

Hasbeen,
Yeah, coat a paint, very functional, why didn’t I think of that.
Please don’t answer that.

By: Hasbeen

Hasbeen — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 06:25:57 +0000

Back in the 60s, in another life, when I was a bright eyed, young engineer, I was responsible for the commercialisation of electro chrome plating of plastic, [ABS at that time] in Oz. Due to the then nature of our industry, with a lot of expensive hand finishing of metal parts, we led the world, in the establishment of this process.

I was recently pleased to see some of this stuff, still in service. All the equivalent metal gear, [brass, & die cast muck] has long since corroded past usefulness.

Yes the brass is gone, as water gets in through pinholes in the chrome, & dezinkification sets up. BUT, sunlight, [or the ultravoilet in the sunlight] can’t get through the same pinholes, & the plastic bit has a much longer service period, as its only enemy, in service, is that UV.

Drongo talks sense, as usual, but goes a bit too far, with his shade house. You don’t need a full shade house to protect your poly tank, all you need is to stop the UV. Poly is hard to paint, it’s difficult to get good adhesion , but it can be done. With suitable paint applied, & the UV eliminated, no one can give you an estimate of your tank’s life. With no suitable accelerating ageing test available, no one has lived long enough to run the required tests.

A properly made, installed & uv protected poly tank, has a life too long to think about. My guess is that the recyclable tag was applied by some salesman, who did not know enough about the product he was selling, to please some greenie costomer, & was then perpetuated

A fimiliay story with many salesmen, the IPCC comes to mind.

By: Warwick Hughes

Warwick Hughes — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:52:57 +0000

Before spending a lot of your hard earned shekels on water tanks it might pay to read this report. “The cost-effectiveness of rainwater tanks in urban Australia”, by Marsden Jacob Associates (448KB). Waterlines Report No 1 – March 2007, downloadable here.
http://www.nwc.gov.au/www/html/605-the-cost-effectiveness-of-rainwater-tanks-in-urban-australia.asp
In many cases scheme water is still cheaper. If Govts would act rationally about supplying water, it is far cheaper to pay them to do the job.

By: Jan Pompe

Jan Pompe — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:25:43 +0000

SJT: “The only issue with recycling is that products for human consumption must use new, not recycled materials.”

True enough for “fresh” even that degrades with repeated recycling, but here we are talking about plastics that has deteriorated with age can that be recycled? I’m not so sure.

By: spangled drongo

spangled drongo — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:50:50 +0000

I’ve always felt that plastic was a dodgy material for tank construction on a “forever” basis.
Being brought up in the bush to fix any problem, the most sophicticated workshop can’t fix dozy plastic.
The more traditional tanks of earth, clay, concrete or steel can be made to last forever with a stitch in time.
My solution for “recycling” plastic would be to either fibreglass over the whole tank while it was still sound or attach reinforcing to the inside and cement render it, both of which jobs would cost more than a new tank.
So maybe it’s better to build a shade house over it while new.
Often the longest way round is the sweetest way home.

By: Hasbeen

Hasbeen — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:26:30 +0000

Would it not be wonderful, if this really one of our major problems? We would have mothing at all to worry about, except twits that rush into print.

By: SJT

SJT — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:27:53 +0000

From reading his evidence, I can’t see that anything has been given to him that backs his claims. The plastic from the tanks can be recycled, but the quality of the tanks is so good they will last about 40 years.

The only issue with recycling is that products for human consumption must use new, not recycled materials. That is just for health/sanitation reasons. There are plenty of other products that can still use the plastic.

By: david

david — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:25:10 +0000

Seems like a beat up.

PS just got another 10,000 litre tank installed this week. The house is now 100% self sufficient in water.