Reduce, Reuse, (and what was the other thing?)

This is a letter to the editor of the Brunswick Post regarding a Guest Column article about recycling in the City of Strongsville. Most is also applicable to Brunswick and other areas.

Thanks to Erin Lally for the informative Local Guest Column in Wednesday’s Post, ‘Let’s talk trash – and recycling!’ I live in Brunswick, where we also have curbside recycling (although there are a few differences from Strongsville). It’s good to be reminded about the importance and the protocol of recycling occasionally, and Erin Lally’s article did the trick.

In our part of Ohio, critics often gleefully point out two news items related to recycling. One is a report that the City of Cleveland is simply dumping recycling items in a landfill. This has been happening for at least two years, and the city still has not rectified the situation. Although this is a continuing problem for Cleveland, it doesn’t appear to be occurring in Strongsville, Brunswick, or other areas.

A second news item regarding recycling is the problem with plastic. Over a year ago, China drastically reduced the amount of plastic that it imports for recycling. This abrupt change is causing mountains of plastic trash to build up for U.S. recycling agencies. Our country and others are scrambling to find alternative approaches to the problem. There is no shortage of ideas, but scalability and economics are major concerns. It’s also the case that not all types of plastic can be effectively recycled. It appears that there is no fast and easy solution to the problem. I would also add that this plastic problem does not apply to paper, glass, metal, and other recycling.

None of this is to say that we shouldn’t recycle; we should. It’s far better for the environment to at least try to reuse material waste that would otherwise be placed in landfills. Please keep in mind Erin Lally’s and others’ mantra, “reduce, reuse, recycle,” and the priority should be in that order.

Clearing Snow off Solar Panels

 

When our solar panels were installed last summer, I didn’t think a whole lot about what would happen to them in the winter. I suppose I thought that snow would just slide right off, and we wouldn’t need to worry about them. Not quite. Now that the winter of 2020-2021 is raging, I would like to share a little of what I’ve learned.

Snow doesn’t always ‘slide right off.’ It does indeed slide off easier than it does from the asphalt shingles on the rest of the roof. And when there’s just a thin layer, it melts faster on the panels than it does on the rest of the roof. But if the snow is heavy, or if it turns to ice, it can last for a while on the panels. Is it worth the trouble to try to clear them off?

I gave this a little thought and also did a bit of research. On a bright winter day, the panels may produce power that’s worth a couple of dollars; perhaps three at most. Of course, it all depends on the panels’ angle, length of daylight hours, amount of cloudiness, etc. It also depends on how many panels you have. Then you need to multiply those three bucks by the number of days that the panels will retain their heavy snow covering. I decided to try to clear them off and purchased a “Snow Broom with 15 Ft Stainless Steel Heavy Duty Connecting Pole” from Amazon.

Although the foam head is light, and the stainless steel handle sections are light, when fully extended, the whole thing becomes awkward and difficult to use. I learned that I needed to still stand on a step ladder with the entire extended length to reach the highest panels. The ladder is mostly to provide the best leverage. I also learned that I need to clear the lower areas first, then work my way higher. As good as it all works, the work is very difficult. I become exhausted after just a few minutes.

I will say that it feels good to have the panels cleared off. But the work is so hard, I still wonder whether it’s worth it.