←back to thread

How good are American roads?

(www.construction-physics.com)
193 points chmaynard | 8 comments | 20 Nov 24 14:45 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
Show context
digitalsushi ◴[20 Nov 24 15:11 UTC] No.42194555[source]▶
I heard a civil engineer make a claim once that the dust on the side of the road is about 300% more laden with precious metals like platinum, than random mining. I suppose this is all roads and not just American roads, though.
replies(2): >>42194600 #>>42194667 #
mikepurvis ◴[20 Nov 24 15:16 UTC] No.42194600[source]▶
Isn’t it supposed to be mostly brake pads, rotors, and tire rubber?

Would be fascinating to imagine it being economically viable to vacuum up and reprocess it, but based on the above I’ve assumed it was worthless.

replies(3): >>42194625 #>>42194760 #>>42197209 #
1. alt227 ◴[20 Nov 24 15:19 UTC] No.42194625[source]▶
Sounds a bit like the guys that collect the sludge from the sewers in jewellery and gold smithing districts in cities, then pan it for gold. Its not going to make anyone rich, but theres enough gold dust in there to buy some food and shoes for somebody hungry enough to dive into a sewer and collect sludge!
replies(1): >>42194664 #
2. mikepurvis ◴[20 Nov 24 15:23 UTC] No.42194664[source]▶
Supermarkets that make you put in a quarter to take a shopping cart are really just paying the homeless $0.25 each to return them from the parking lot.
replies(3): >>42195147 #>>42196322 #>>42196452 #
3. technothrasher ◴[20 Nov 24 16:00 UTC] No.42195147[source]▶
It seems more like the customers are paying the homeless, and the supermarkets are just acting as brokers.
4. permo-w ◴[20 Nov 24 17:37 UTC] No.42196322[source]▶
it's the same for bottle deposits in parts of Europe. anything in a plastic bottle costs an extra ~10c which you can retrieve by depositing the empty in a machine at the supermarket
5. permo-w ◴[20 Nov 24 17:51 UTC] No.42196452[source]▶
in the UK, trolley deposits are much more expensive, at £1. people are more likely to retrieve a £1 than a quarter, but the atomic payout is ~5x higher, so I wonder which scenario yields better pay for the homeless
replies(2): >>42198413 #>>42198433 #
6. ◴[20 Nov 24 21:42 UTC] No.42198413{3}[source]▶
7. mikepurvis ◴[20 Nov 24 21:45 UTC] No.42198433{3}[source]▶
I mean ultimately the goal is to find a balance where carts won’t be everywhere and customers aren’t inconvenienced to the point of choosing a different store.
replies(1): >>42198965 #
8. permo-w ◴[20 Nov 24 22:51 UTC] No.42198965{4}[source]▶
I mean either way carts aren't gonna be everywhere, and I don't think pounds have ever been a problem for shoppers in the UK