Why I Don’t Recycle

[Rogar]

Switzerland apparently has a waste removal system run by the state government. The only bag you can use for refuse is the official sanctioned state bag. It costs 10 euros for one bag.....I figured that to be $12 ish. So nothing gets thrown away in the trash unless it’s definitely not recyclable. I wonder if there is a black market for counterfeit trash bags?

There was a Colorado town I know of that tried that for a few years. I don't know the cost or why it was discontinued, but it seemed like a reasonable proposition. At the Euro rate I would swag an estimate that it would reduce my current costs by about half most months, though I get a lot of yard and garden waste in the spring and fall.

[Ultralight]

You have any *helpful* feedback UL?

Well, I think the earth has pretty much been polluted beyond the possibility of repair. So while I am outright trashing the place on my own (though I certainly contribute to much of the pollution) I don't really worry about it.

It is all over by the shouting, CL.

Also: Turning your property into a well-organized or not-so-well organized landfill doesn't really change the situation.

I am not sure how helpful this is. It probably isn't.

Remember that old movie Dr. Strangelove?

The second title of it was: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

So I think of our environmental catastrophe like that. Why bother worrying over it. We are all f-cked.

[jp1]

Switzerland apparently has a waste removal system run by the state government. The only bag you can use for refuse is the official sanctioned state bag. It costs 10 euros for one bag.....I figured that to be $12 ish. So nothing gets thrown away in the trash unless it’s definitely not recyclable. I wonder if there is a black market for counterfeit trash bags?

That sounds similar to the concept here. Residents pay for either a really small landfill garbage dumpster, collected once a week, or a much bigger and more expensive one. The small ones look like they might hold two 13 gallon garbage bags. Recycling and compost are collected for free.

[Chicken lady]

I used to live where we paid by the bag for trash. There was more littering. Also, the recycling was free, but there was no paper recycling and everything had to be loose in your bin. the truck stopped and two guys got off and tossed your recycling into the correct sections of truck one item at a time. Anything that didn’t pass, they threw into your yard.

the “unwrap the item at the store” people bug me. Are they making a point? Do they think it’s good to create extra scope creep work for the store employees? Do they really think that if they leave the packaging at the store to be thrown out it “counts against them” less than if they take it home and throw it out? “I produced no trash because I left it a5 the store.” Dude, you paid for it, it’s yours.

Ultralite, surrender is not an option.

also, my friend Shannon pointed out years ago that if I just store the trash at my house, my house becomes the landfill. I am working on it!

[catherine]

Ultralite, surrender is not an option.

+1

[Williamsmith]

CL, I agree. From what I read the “zap unwrappers” feel that the stores have access to trash removal services that individual consumers don’t have and they don’t give them options because they want to maximize their profit instead of show some corporate responsibility for the environment. Not exactly my view, just forwarding their justification.

I did take my first step towards reducing consumption and minimizizing by trash “footprint”. I ordered a straight razor which utilizes recyclable blades. No more plastic one time use safety razors that go straight to the dump. Yeah me! I am an eco crusader.

UL.......you roll over too easily.

[Chicken lady]

My store gives me an option. It’s a trash can by the entrance. I find it easier to unwrap the items at home.

good for you on the straight razor!

dh has recently grown a beard. I hate it. He is touting it as “the environmentally responsible option.” If i wasn’t swimming regularly for exercise i’d be tempted to play “i’ll show you environmentally responsible”....

i use disposable blades with no handle. I am however, tempted by the idea of an old fashioned metal safety razor....

i helped with the cooking king class today. I am still traumatized by the paper plates and plastic forks. I did not, however, save the plastic forks from the trash. I can’t stop thinking about it though.

[Rogar]

I have been shaving with a 1950's Gillette double edged razor I picked up off eBay for years. I get a hundred good quality blades for about $15. from Amazon as the stores don't carry much of anything, which is more than a years supply for me. I wouldn't recycle the blades for safety reason, but it saves a bunch of money and no plastic handles get discarded.

[Williamsmith]

While the razor makes its way to my door, I did some math. The case of 24 bottles of water I have in the garage holds about as much water as three gallon jugs. Since the price of a case is @ $5 and the price of three gallons is @ 2.50... well that’s a no brained to me. Just have to get two metal water containers about the size of a water bottle for the fridge. I’m wondering about the difference in plastic between gallon jugs and individual bottles? By recycling energy costs and by actual material content.

[Tammy]

You could weigh the two types of equivalent empty plastic containers - I'm interested in the result.