Composition of Phone Books

As with any recyclable, knowing exactly what phone books are of is important. The books’ composition can affect the end user selected, the collection methods, or even whether the books are recycled at all.

Needs of Paper Mills

The components a particular mill can handle will depend on the product into which the old telephone directories (OTD) is being made and upon that mill’s technology for handling inks, glues, etc. A basic understanding of the papermaking process is useful in matching the optimal end user to OTD from a specific community.

Most mills begin the recycling of OTD by shredding, or “hogging,” the books. This may have been done earlier, prior to baling, depending on the mill’s specifications and who processed the OTD for shipment to them. The baling strips are removed and the shredded books are processed with chemicals and water to remove ink, coatings, and glue. De-inking technologies very by mill, and are closely guarded trade secrets.

This cleaned fiber may be mixed with some virgin pulp fiber, depending on the recycled content of the end product. The wet paper mixture is thinned and passed into sheets, dried by hot air...

Roofing With Slates

Perhaps no other roofing material lasts as long as slate. Incredibly, come old churches and homes from America’s colonial period still have their original slate roofs. Slate is still in demand for updscale custom homes, churches, and country-club clubhouses, but most new instead, because they are so much cheaper.

Like asphalt shingles, slate comes in many colors, sizes, grades, and weights. Due to its weight – three times that of asphalt – roof rafters and roof sheathing need to be up to code to support slate’s heavy load. Slate can be placed over a layer of composition shingles only if the slope of the roof is 4-in-12 or more, and only if a structural engineer has confirmed that the roof framing can bear the weight of 7 pound per square foot.

Today, only handfuls of roofing companies specializing exclusively in slate are in business. Most roofing contractors will do occasional slate roofs. And because it is difficult to cut and apply, slate roofing is not an easy job for the do-it-yourselfers. If you do decide to do the work, expect to make a considerable investment in time and materials.

Installing Slate

Slate should be installed tilted slightly upward at the eaves,...

“…90 percent of success is showing up.”  Woody Allen.

Dumpster Rental Market Overview

The Dumpster Rentals sector of waste hauling industry is facing an increasingly diverse landscape and a fragmentation of the target market. Dumpster Rentals companies are more often finding that their traditional role as a "Waste Hauler & Waste Disposal contractor” is coming under threat from competitors such as cleaning companies, trash and rubbish removal businesses, waste trailer rentals, trucking companies that offer trash removal services, facilities management groups, recycling businesses, processing operators, logistics companies and Municipal Waste Management companies who offer dumpster rentals in many cities and towns. Add to this the developing legislative influence, local by-laws and local waste disposal regulations dictating how solid waste streams have to be collected, processed and pre treated before disposal and this has led to an imposing and complex market.

Amid this environment, businesses are now turning to marketing techniques and support to help establish their own presence and increase the exposure of their companies to the local market.

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