While it is impossible to know for sure how many street sweeper brooms are replaced each year, there are ways to get some idea of the number. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
New York City alone has about 450 traditional street sweepers. Denver has 30. While most small communities might have just one or two street sweepers, you can begin to imagine how many of these machines are in operation across the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a variety of factors \u2013 from age and maintenance of the machine to the type of streets and the debris on them to the expertise of the operator \u2013 street sweeper brooms must periodically be replaced. It\u2019s estimated that in an average community, a street sweeper goes through three to four brooms per year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Environmentally conscious street maintenance managers may do their best to recycle used items, but sweeper brooms, which consist of multiple materials, aren\u2019t easily recycled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, the best way to divert something from the landfill is to simply continue the use it. For as long as possible that an item or material can fulfill its original function, it stays out of the dump. But all good things must end, even the effectiveness of street sweeper brooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the environmental impact is bigger than just street sweepers. Tube brooms are used for sweeping airport runways and for asphalt paving, as well as numerous other tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is there a way to prevent these tube brooms from being sent directly to the dump? Is there a second life for a tube broom once it ceases to be effective at its original purpose? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To put a new twist on an old phrase, \u201cOne man\u2019s trash is an animal\u2019s treasure.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tube brooms are being utilized as scratching posts for large animals in pastures, livestock pens and in zoos across the country. To the delight of everything from horses and cows to giraffes, elephants and hippos, used tube brooms can serve a second purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A \u201crepurposing\u201d leader is working to help communities save money while also preventing unnecessary waste. One of his most popular products is tube brooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur biggest customer for repurposed tube brooms is Ted Turner, who owns more than 50,000 bison on ranches from New Mexico to Kansas to Montana,\u201d said Damon Carson, owner of repurposedMATERIALS. \u201cThe Turner Bison Program has purchased about 50 tube brooms from us over time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
RepurposedMATERIALS is helping industries across the nation reduce their environmental impact by finding a second life for a surprising number of items. Here are few of repurposedMATERIALS\u2019 creative applications of used materials: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe all have a part to play in protecting our environment,\u201d said repurposedMATERIALS owner Damon Carson. \u201cIt makes sense environmentally and economically. Giving materials a second life keeps them out of the landfill, which can come with surprising cost savings.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For half a century, the solution to the waste problem has been recycling. But recycling involves the reprocessing of materials. It uses energy, another kind of waste. It\u2019s expensive. And it\u2019s inefficient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For those reasons, recycling ranks just above \u2018waste-to-energy\u2019 (i.e. burning) on the waste hierarchy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than melting, shredding, chipping or grinding \u2013 the recycling process \u2013 repurposedMATERIALS finds new uses for materials in their current form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf something is obsolete to the primary user, that doesn\u2019t mean it doesn\u2019t have value somewhere,\u201d Carson said. \u201cIf you find yourself saying \u2018I can\u2019t use this. What am I going to do with it?\u2019 that\u2019s where we come in.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Generally speaking, once the bristles wear to a specific point \u2013 often considered about half their original length \u2013 they need to be replaced. Not replacing them on time not only reduces their effectiveness, it puts additional strain on the equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Small communities may be throwing away a dozen or so street sweeper tube brooms each year. A major city could be throwing away thousands. Carson hopes to help prolong the usefulness of street sweeper brooms, thus diverting them from the landfill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carson challenges those in every industry to consider if there are \u201crepurpose-able\u201d options for their obsolete materials before simply banishing them to the landfill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe adhere to the belief \u2018It is not a waste until it is wasted,\u2019\u201d Carson said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For advice on repurposing materials, contact Carson by telephone at 720-615-0281, or by email at damon@repurposedmaterialsinc.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While it is impossible to know for sure how many street sweeper brooms are replaced each year, there are ways to get some idea of the number. New York City alone has about 450 traditional street sweepers. Denver has 30. While most small communities might have just one or two street sweepers, you can …<\/p>\n