The totally off-topic thread

[straitman]

Well you've seen it today - there is always tomorrow!

Can you wait a couple of weeks for delivery?

 

[amaroo]

Wow, where did those 25 years go :shock:

[video=vimeo;82942333]https://vimeo.com/82942333[/video]

 

[RooFlyer]

Have you ever noticed in LOTFAP that you are the only one in the restaurant that is drinking wine at lunchtime ?

Most of the other diners seem to drink that terrible cold tea stuff. Personally I am a freshly ground coffee man and don't like tea at all. But really, what's wrong with a glass of good wine for lunch ?

Absolutely nothing! (Except that its not two glasses of wine with lunch.)

 

[anat0l]

Nespresso pods are supposed to be returned to the shop for recycling. It seems the problem is more likely to be people being too lazy to make the effort.

Aluminium is very recyclable.

Maybe they should put a deposit rebate on each pod? A bit like the old "cash for cans" campaign (what happened to that, why did it fail?).

Funny you make that comment about aluminium. When I was doing research with the alumina companies, we would often discuss what is a more effective way to promote and improve the efficiency of collecting aluminium so it could be recycled / reprocessed. Some rather outward ideas were proposed.

Not even remotely the same.

...

I don't understand the obsession.

And that's all we need to end the discussion.

 

[JohnK]

And that's all we need to end the discussion.

For you? The curiosity will continue for me.

 

[medhead]

Maybe they should put a deposit rebate on each pod? A bit like the old "cash for cans" campaign (what happened to that, why did it fail?).

Funny you make that comment about aluminium. When I was doing research with the alumina companies, we would often discuss what is a more effective way to promote and improve the efficiency of collecting aluminium so it could be recycled / reprocessed. Some rather outward ideas were proposed.

South Australia has a container deposit system. Scrap metal dealers in other states should still buy scrap aluminium. Digging well into the memory banks, last time I sold scrap aluminium it as 60 cents/kg. I might have factored in 100 cans per kg (depending on how many little stones I'd put into each can). In south Australia 100 cans gets me $10.

So the low take up of "cash for cans" as a recycling method is probably related to the low return for effort.

It seems to me that a CDL is the best option. Which then leads me into a rant about Coke who firmly oppose CDL schemes. In particular, lobbied hard to kill the NT scheme. But then want to advertise their environmental friendliness with this rubbish about turning empty coke bottles into water pistols. Hopefully, NSW decide to introduce a CDL. But they do tend to make strange decisions like deciding they couldn't be out of step with other states, while drinking from containers that say 10 cent deposit in South Australia.

That said there is a high level of effort in dealing with those containers. Storage, then preparation for return crushing and removing caps, and counting to speed up the process at the recycling centre. Caps are best left on bottle during storage to discourage coughroaches. It's very tempting to just dump them in the recycling bin so that the local bin scab gets the money. Alternatively the waste centre gets the 10 cents, thereby helping to reduce my rates bill. I imagine the personal cost of processing nespresso pods would vastly outweigh the potential cash from selling to scrap metal dealers.

 

[GarrettM]

Our coffee machine has died. Possibly the worst thing I've ever had to endure. Back to instant. For now.

 

[Major]

Our coffee machine has died. Possibly the worst thing I've ever had to endure. Back to instant. For now.

It's why we keep a cheap pod machine handy

 

[GarrettM]

It's why we keep a cheap pod machine handy

Well TBH it was a cheapish pod machine. But by golly it made a solid cup of coffee. I guess now we'll get a cheaper grinder type, as it's a bit more eco-friendly. As always, the wife will decide what I will do.

 

[pjm99au]

There were some funny things with the seating allocation on QF549 tonight which had me scratching my head until I saw this beautiful fella on board

 

[TheRealTMA]

Our coffee machine has died. Possibly the worst thing I've ever had to endure. Back to instant. For now.

That's why you should always keep one of these handy!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot

 

[GarrettM]

There were some funny things with the seating allocation on QF549 tonight which had me scratching my head until I saw this beautiful fella on board

View attachment 66014

Good to see there's enough dogroom there. Presumably a vision impaired dog?

 

[RooFlyer]

I don't get the thing about recycling coffee machine pods. Are they a particular threat to the environment if I put them into my garbage bag, as I do now? I dare say that recycling these things would require a fair pit of water to wash the grounds out from the aluminium stream, especially.

In my municipality (and many others I think) in Tas, having to collect 'recyclables' is a net loss, because there are no decent sized collection facilities here, so it actually costs to get rif of the stuff!

 

[GarrettM]

That's why you should always keep one of these handy!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot

Oh my. We used to have one of these. I hated it because I could never quite lock the lid on properly. Which obviously resulted in it exploding while on the stove one day. In our little rental unit. Sitting on the couch when we heard a funny whistle, and then boom! Rushed into the kitchen to see a volcano of very hot coffee coloured water blasting all over the kitchen roof, the floor, the cabinets, the walls. It was everywhere. Ended up with a few small scalds on the arms and face in my efforts to get it off the bloody stove. The cleaning process was a nightmare.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

I don't get the thing about recycling coffee machine pods. Are they a particular threat to the environment if I put them into my garbage bag, as I do now? I dare say that recycling these things would require a fair pit of water to wash the grounds out from the aluminium stream, especially.

In my municipality (and many others I think) in Tas, having to collect 'recyclables' is a net loss, because there are no decent sized collection facilities here, so it actually costs to get rif of the stuff!

I don't think it's that they pose a particular threat when disposed of.
It's more that they are an inordinately disproportionate use of resources for each cup of coffee.
The aluminium, the plastic, the electricity that goes into the manufacturing process, the packaging etc.
And of course if not recycled these consume space in landfill eventually.
So the environmental footprint for each cup of coffee is huge - and unnecessarily so, given there are alternatives.
You may be right about the cost of recycling. From what I've read they aren't easy to recycle anyway.
Separating the plastic from the aluminium isn't routine, apparently.
So the only real answer to the wastefulness might be to not use them.

 

[RooFlyer]

I don't think it's that they pose a particular threat when disposed of.
It's more that they are an inordinately disproportionate use of resources for each cup of coffee.
The aluminium, the plastic, the electricity that goes into the manufacturing process, the packaging etc.
And of course if not recycled these consume space in landfill eventually.
So the environmental footprint for each cup of coffee is huge - and unnecessarily so, given there are alternatives.
You may be right about the cost of recycling. From what I've read they aren't easy to recycle anyway.
Separating the plastic from the aluminium isn't routine, apparently.
So the only real answer to the wastefulness might be to not use them.

Thats what I figured about the recycling. I mean it's mainly coffee grounds!

As to the 'environmental footprint' aka 'do not use', I'm afraid that's been won and lost. I'm happy to provide the dignity of work for so many people in so many industries probably with many in third world countries.

And enjoy a a nice cup of coffee.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

There will be no dignity in work on a dead planet.

 

[medhead]

I don't get the thing about recycling coffee machine pods. Are they a particular threat to the environment if I put them into my garbage bag, as I do now? I dare say that recycling these things would require a fair pit of water to wash the grounds out from the aluminium stream, especially.

In my municipality (and many others I think) in Tas, having to collect 'recyclables' is a net loss, because there are no decent sized collection facilities here, so it actually costs to get rif of the stuff!

Clearly Tas is a special case.

In terms of the recycling. SWMBO has told me that she read something where the inventor of Nespresso pods is dismayed at the lack of recycling of the pods. So much so that he wouldn't have done it if he knew. Nespresso have a separate recycling pathway from normal council recycling.

In terms of the recycling thing South Australia introduced massive land fill fees about 8 to 10 years ago, possibly around the time they banned plastic shopping bags. Shortly after that our council introduced special bags for food and vege scraps to go into green waste. They've also vastly expanded the recycling possibilities - e.g. adding soft PET not just hard PET. All this because of the evil nanny state making recycling cost effective. Now I could probably go 3 weeks without filling the normal bin, and I struggle every fortnight with space in the recycling bin. But I'm happy if exorbitant landfill fees don't get transferred to my rates.

I suppose I could empty the pods into the vege waste bag and then put the metal in recycling, but dropping the used pods back to nespresso is easy. Dropped about 8 kg back to them last weekend.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Oh my. We used to have one of these. I hated it because I could never quite lock the lid on properly. Which obviously resulted in it exploding while on the stove one day. In our little rental unit. Sitting on the couch when we heard a funny whistle, and then boom! Rushed into the kitchen to see a volcano of very hot coffee coloured water blasting all over the kitchen roof, the floor, the cabinets, the walls. It was everywhere. Ended up with a few small scalds on the arms and face in my efforts to get it off the bloody stove. The cleaning process was a nightmare.

Lol. Makes you appreciate the coffee you are brewing, even if dropping your self-esteem.

 

[JohnK]

With Large Fries?

Up size of course.