Curious What others do with used media?

[Chrysemys]

What do you do with your old DI resin, spent GAC, and GFO?
I know some of these can recharge. Is it worth the trouble?
Is there a company that will recycle any of these?
How do you put your reject water from your RO to use?
And now for a crazy thought.... anyone ever dehydrate their water from a water change and reuse the salt? I can’t imagine this would work because you’d have a lot of impurities left behind as well. But I am curious what you think.

I am trying to think of ways to make my tank a little “greener.” With all the plastics in the ocean, carbon footprints, all that jazz, just trying to get some ideas.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

I haven't needed to change DI resin in years. I just don't use my RODI that much I guess.
I don't need GFO.
I do use GAC. I will typically put it in the compost bin & use it for the garden.

In regards to plastic in the ocean, Just 10 rivers are carrying 90% of the plastic entering the oceans, a study has found. So nothing you can do about that. ;)

 

[Butuz]

I haven't needed to change DI resin in years. I just don't use my RODI that much I guess.
I don't need GFO.
I do use GAC. I will typically put it in the compost bin & use it for the garden.

In regards to plastic in the ocean, Just 10 rivers are carrying 90% of the plastic entering the oceans, a study has found. So nothing you can do about that. ;)

Except for refusing to use single use plastics (cups, straws, ect). Studies have concluded that vast majority of plastic pollution is from these single use products. In addition, after I installed RODI, I put a coupler for RO before DI that we use for drinking water. We used to go through cases of water weekely, now zero. Even though these bottles used to go into the recycling bin, still better feeling. No plastic bags at grocery, my wife takes her own fabric bags. Every little bit helps.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Except for refusing to use single use plastics (cups, straws, ect). Studies have concluded that vast majority of plastic pollution is from these single use products. In addition, after I installed RODI, I put a coupler for RO before DI that we use for drinking water. We used to go through cases of water weekely, now zero. Even though these bottles used to go into the recycling bin, still better feeling. No plastic bags at grocery, my wife takes her own fabric bags. Every little bit helps.

Waste control is the issue with plastic pollution, not the plastic itself as the study made clear. Many efforts to kerb plastic pollution are futile.
For example; where I live so called single use plastic shopping bags were banned. But over 80% of these bags were used as garbage bin liners & burried at the rubbish tip.
By banning them people just started having to buy plastic garbage bags for this purpose instead. And the stores now sell reusable plastic bags anyway. LOL

Pen & Teller put very well how recycling isn't all its made up to be

Anyway, this thread is about GAC, GFO & DI. :)

 

[John Neuzil]

For my waste rodi water I direct the waste to our washing machine.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

For my waste rodi water I direct the waste to our washing machine.

I use my RODI flush water in my koi pond or in the garden :)

 

[Scrubber_steve]

I imagine that used GFO would be an excellent fertilizer for the garden. The iron, the absorbed phosphate, trace elements.
It would also go in my compost bin

 

[dantimdad]

I put GAC in the yard.

RO waste water to the koi pond.

Haven't used GFO in over a decade.

I put the DI resin in the trash can.

Anything plastic goes in the recycle bin after getting rinsed.

I am not concerned about being green I just think it makes sense to not put plastic in the trash.

 

[Butuz]

Waste control is the issue with plastic pollution, not the plastic itself as the study made clear. Many efforts to kerb plastic pollution are futile.
For example; where I live so called single use plastic shopping bags were banned. But over 80% of these bags were used as garbage bin liners & burried at the rubbish tip.
By banning them people just started having to buy plastic garbage bags for this purpose instead. And the stores now sell reusable plastic bags anyway. LOL

Pen & Teller put very well how recycling isn't all its made up to be

Anyway, this thread is about GAC, GFO & DI. :)

Lol, agree, the thread got a little hijacked, but here is a link to UN’s study on single use plastcis. I tend to trust their efforts more than Penn and Teller research. :). I do agree with you, its not the use, its pollution, but giving people cheap and easy access to single use plastics is whats driving usage and subsequent pollution. To put it simply, if zero plastic straws were sold globally, that would be billions fewer of them to pollute the ocean. I simply have a problem with something that has a use for 2 mins, but a lifetime of decomposting. Banning will fix that and people will get used to an alternative, even is less convenient. Today, its the easiest and cheapest option, hence the use. If the industry is regulated to come up with a different answer, they will, as Europe has proven. Without a push, there is no incentive for them to do so.

https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/25496/singleUsePlastic_sustainability.pdf

 

[Butuz]

I imagine that used GFO would be an excellent fertilizer for the garden. The iron, the absorbed phosphate, trace elements.
It would also go in my compost bin

I have not thought of that, that is a good idea.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Lol, agree, the thread got a little hijacked, but here is a link to UN’s study on single use plastcis. I tend to trust their efforts more than Penn and Teller research. :).

I trust Penn & Teller more Butuz! For example; They mention that recycling plastic bottles uses more energy than making a new bottle.
In my country a major plastic recycling business has had to shut down directly due to the rise in electricity costs in that particular state, South Australia. The rise is a direct effect of that state closing down its coal fired power stations, where cheap & reliable power was generated, & using more wind energy instead. How ironic. The state has undergone statewide blackouts because of this, has had to import coal fired power from other states to prevent further statewide blackouts, & then they made the decision to invest millions of tax payers money to buy diesel generators for when the wind isn't blowing, or blowing too strong. The UN & Europe pushed the auto industry to produce diesel cars. But it now known that this was a big mistake because of particulate matter produced from burning diesel. Back to S.A., the then state Premier decided to by a $90 million big battery from Elon 'money bags' Musk with a forward cost over the next ten years of a further $50 million in subsidies to Tesla and Neoen. This cost for a battery that can only provide 1 1/2 hours of power to only 30,000 homes. A battery that could only run the Tomago Aluminium Smelter for 8 minutes. :eek:

In other silly feel good action news; for many years every household in Australia has been forced to pay to have a local council recycling bin. These bins are for paper, glass & plastic bottles, tin & aluminum cans.
But this wasn't strong enough action for those afflicted with the curse of having to earn an income through environmental action. So, these unelected non-governmental organisations pressured the State government to introduce a levy on plastic, glass & aluminum bottles & cans, causing the cost of these items to rise. So, what to do now with these recyclables? Do I just keep putting the them in my compulsory recycle bin, loosing money by not regaining the levy refund? Or do I now create another storage area for them, the put them in my V6 pertol powered car, & drive to some recycle station, where the refund is just a voucher to spend at one of two grocery stores... :mad:

 

[Chrysemys]

I agree on the recycling of plastics in general. Our local recycling has stopped accepting plastic for many of these reasons.

As far as single use plastics, would the DI resin beads not fit in that category? I know they are a type of plastics, but maybe they degrade faster than other plastics.

Getting off topic on the thread as well....

I was implying taking the DI resin and recharging and reselling versus the usually meaning of recycling. I should have been more specific. I know there are companies that do this on an industrial scale. Any on a hobby scale?

I love the idea of composting GAC and GFO I’ll add that to my coffee grounds :)

And RO waste to the washing machine is a great idea. Thank you.

Any other ideas out there?

 

[Scrubber_steve]

I agree on the recycling of plastics in general. Our local recycling has stopped accepting plastic for many of these reasons.

As far as single use plastics, would the DI resin beads not fit in that category? I know they are a type of plastics, but maybe they degrade faster than other plastics.

Getting off topic on the thread as well....

I was implying taking the DI resin and recharging and reselling versus the usually meaning of recycling. I should have been more specific. I know there are companies that do this on an industrial scale. Any on a hobby scale?

I love the idea of composting GAC and GFO I’ll add that to my coffee grounds :)

And RO waste to the washing machine is a great idea. Thank you.

Any other ideas out there?

you can recharge the resin. There's utubes on how to do it.