Comments on: Take A Seat—But Watch For Splinters (Feb, 1943)

By: Jari

Jari — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:54:03 +0000

Fluffy, it depends how the recycling is arranged. In some (most?) municipalities here in Finland, the unsorted waste is crushed, and then metals, plastics etc. are separated with various means. So in a sense, steel separation happens anyway.

By: Jari

Jari — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:48:55 +0000

Firebrand, I actually checked that from one of a Finnish steel companys quarter report, as I own a whopping 40 shares of that

But anyway, that IS a good link to know a lot about steel recycling.

By: fluffy

fluffy — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:22:51 +0000

But what about the energy and labor costs involved in separating the steel springs from the furniture? What I was thinking of is how I see a LOT of furniture which is simply discarded in the trash and doesn’t go to any sort of recycling facility whatsoever, and presumably it all ends up in landfill.

By: Firebrand38

Firebrand38 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:04:49 +0000

Jari is also correct, and here is a link to back him up http://www.recycle-steel.org/rates.html

(because it’s always proper to cite sources)

By: Jari

Jari — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:35:19 +0000

And steel is easily recycleable. About 50 percent of worlds steel production is made of recycled steel.

By: Alan J. Richer

Alan J. Richer — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:43:04 +0000

Perhaps, but cut-out wooden springs have no resilience to overbending situations. Plop down in your chair a bit too hard and CRACK…no more springs. Steam-bent or laminated springs from ash or the like are much more resilient (no cut grain – use split lumber) but are labor-intensive.

Steel is popular for a lot of reasons – ease of use and long life being two of them.

By: fluffy

fluffy — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:40:32 +0000

That actually seems like it’s technology that needs to make a comeback. Metal springs are still amazingly wasteful in both manufacturing and in disposal.