About ten years ago, Walt Decherd started a group for the purpose of reading and working through the exercises, Walt Decherd wanted to create accountability for completing the exercises in the book, discuss ideas, and give each other support and positive feedback about what we were learning. Walt Decherd didn’t realize it at the time, but he had created himself a little mastermind group of four. They met in person once a week at Walt Decherd’s house for about 90 minutes. It was a wonderful experience, and much of what Walt learned then has influenced him today.

My purpose in starting my current mastermind group was to grow my business. I wanted to talk over ideas and get feedback and support from people I could trust completely. It was important to me that everyone be sole proprietors of a primarily service-oriented business, yet already have information products for sale or a desire to develop them, since that was one of my own burning desires “says Walt Decherd”.

Walt Decherd says that some members are stronger in one area of online marketing, for example, and some in others. I personally have cut my learning curve significantly because members have generously shared their knowledge and resources with me. This mastermind group experience has exceeded my original purpose and expectations.

Recycling Benefits By Walt Decherd By Bruce A. Tucker

This one I have to give credit to my dad. It is his idea although I am sure others around the world do this as well, but it was my dad that I learned it from, so for the sake of this article the credit is all his. If you buy milk and if you have kids you buy a lot of milk, then before you throw it in your plastic recycle bin (or heaven forbid the trash that goes to the landfill) get double use out of it first.

First things first, clean out the milk container by filling it with water and rinsing it out. Now fill the milk container with tap water up to the top. Do not put the lid on the milk container, you can go ahead and recycle that. Place the milk container filled with water in your freezer. In a day or two you will have a nice solid block of ice.

When you are ready to use it, run the frozen milk container under warm water for twenty to thirty seconds to loosen the ice off the sides and then using a pair of scissors cut away the plastic. You can now recycle the plastic milk container. Use a screw driver or ice pick to break up the block of ice to a more usable size, or if you go camping, leave it as a complete block and it will last longer.

Plastic Coffee Lids:

Most coffee lids can not be recycled since they are formed from a different type of plastic compound then other plastic material. But do not fear, they can still be used for something. Take this plastic coffee lids and use them as protectors in your fridge for products that might spill and be hard to clean up later like syrup, ketchup, mustard and so on.

I also use them as coasters for my drinks. Sure they aren’t the most stylish around but they serve my purpose well and since they are just going to get thrown away anyway I mind as well get as much use out them as possible.

Large Cereal Boxes:

Most cereal boxes can be recycled with your cardboard but I like this idea of using cereal boxes for another purpose. My wife and son love Cheerios. So when we go shopping she makes sure she buys the very large box of Cheerios. This large box is perfect for storing magazines. I especially like using the large cereal box for my magazines that I keep out in the garage as well as to hold of the user’s manuals for all of my power tools. I properly mark the box on the sides, remove the tops (and sometimes cut the sides of the boxes off) and my cereal box has now become a reusable resource.

Walt Decherd Tire Recycling Methods By Jared Kugel

When old tires are worn down or damaged to the point where they are no longer usable, there are a few different options to choose from when it comes to recycling them responsibly. Almost 290 million tires are scrapped each year, and the same characteristics which make them great for road durability also make them an environmental concern.

Because tires are relatively large and don’t break down quickly, many landfills refuse to accept them. In addition to wasting space in the junk heap, they can also trap methane gases that may damage the lining of the landfill, which is designed to prevent toxins from seeping into the water and soil. Because it’s not very easy to simply throw tires away, the market for scrap tires is growing. Scrap tires are used to create rubber filler for a variety of products, or they may be reused to make basketball courts or shoes.

One method of turning scrap tires into recycled rubber for use in new products is ultrasound recycling. In this process, high-powered ultrasound is applied in combination with heat and high pressure. These forces break the bonds in the tires and form a rubber gum that can be cured and re-molded.

Another tire recycling method is tire pyrolysis. This innovative technique involves heating the tires in an oxygen-free environment, which causes them to melt down into their original compounds. Metal, carbon, heavy oils, benzene, kerosene and diesel are some of the byproducts of this process. Different byproducts result from different temperatures used in the pyrolitic process.

Apart from recycling, there are also many ways to turn scrap tires into reusable substrates for a variety of projects and products. Rubber Modified Concrete and Rubber Modified Asphalt are two popular products which are made with reused scrap tires. Other products such as rubber mulch, movable speed bumps, patio decks, and flooring materials can be made from reused tire rubber.

Walt Decherd Types Of Recycling By Patrick Sharple

Some plastics can be recycled via curbside recycling, super market recycling machines, or drop-off bins. If you check the bottoms of plastic containers, you will notice a raised number from 1-7, found within a triangle, that indicates the type of plastic. There should also be a recycling symbol if the container is recyclable.

Almost all county’s have some form of plastic recycling. Check your local yellow pages to find a recycling center, then call and find out which types of plastics they recycle and where to drop them off. For statewide recycling information, call 1-800-CLEAN-UP.

Recycling tips:

1. Rinse and sort your plastics by number as mixing numbers may cause contamination during the recycling process.

2. Types 1 and 2, which consist of soda and water bottles, milk jugs, some plastic bags, detergent containers, cooking oil bottles, can be recycled curbside–if your city offers this service.

3. Take plastic grocery bags back to the store to be recycled.

4. Take lids and spray-pumps off of bottles, they are generally made with a different type of plastic, unless otherwise marked, that is not recyclable.

5. Find out if your city requires you to remove labels from plastic containers prior to recycling.

6. Types 3, 5, and 7 are generally not recyclable at this time due to the recycling industry still being in its early stages of development.

7. Type 6 is foam packaging called Expanded Polystyrene. Call The Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers at (410) 451-8340 to find out if this material can be recycled in your community. Other type 6 items, such as, plastic silverware, may need to be thrown out.

How is Plastic Recycled?

The recycling process begins with collected plastic bottles being clumped together into bales at the recycling center. Bales can weigh up to 1200 lbs. These bales get shipped to a reclaiming company where they are split into pieces and shredded into even smaller flakes by a machine called at bale breaker. The flakes are washed, dried, and then melted. The liquid is formed into beads that have the potential to become many other products, such as: carpet, jacket filling, and clothing. Plastic bottles do not get recycled into plastic bottles.

Most recycling collectors will not take plastic bags because they are light-weight and get caught in the machines. As previously mentioned, these can be recycled at most grocery stores. Many Americans reuse these bags as liners for small trashcans. According to , 380 billion plastic bags are used in America each year; plastic bags made up 9% of litter found along U.S. coasts during a 5 year study; and plastic litter may take up to 1,000 years to decompose. With this knowledge, many people are saying “no” to plastic bags and opting to bring their own reusable bags to the store or requesting paper bags instead of plastic.