View Full Version : Are you still recycling?
gimmethesimplelife
3-21-21, 12:53pm
Just curious. More amd more recycling programs are being scrapped across the US and there is debate if our recyclables are actually getting recycled - or just dumped on developing countries.
What's your take? Rob
Teacher Terry
3-21-21, 12:56pm
Since I am so busy with packing my ex husband’s junk I quit recycling. I don’t think my condo building does it although I will inquire. Our garbage company insists it’s all being recycled but the news stories make you wonder.
happystuff
3-21-21, 1:03pm
Absolutely! Also trying to increase my "reduce" and "reuse". I've been trying to make myself more aware of packaging and have even refused to purchase some things due to their excessive packaging. Interestingly enough, participated in a survey a week or so ago about product packaging. Don't remember by who, but am hopeful that companies are starting to... maybe... at least... think about it.
iris lilies
3-21-21, 1:08pm
Yes. We have large recycling containers in our alleys. What happens their contents I don’t know.
My condo association has a private recycler picking up that large garbage can.
The recycling center near my house is finally fully operational after some closures during the pandemic. They require things to be sorted and you have to unbag into containers at the watchful eye of a worker, so contamination is minimal. And they do not take certain numbers of plastics. So I feel somewhat better about things actually being recycled. I have imagined that they get some sort of government subsidy, but they are a private company with a staff of disabled and learning impaired people. It seems like an ideal business model for recyclers.
My trash service does single stream recycling for a small charge, but I don't have much faith in single stream recycling. I suppose it's better than nothing. I have a mature yard with plenty of yard waste, especially in the fall and spring. I wish there was a place to take yard waste for composting or other use, but ther's nothing around that I know of.
ApatheticNoMore
3-21-21, 1:41pm
Here and there but mostly NO. It's too difficult. There are NO recycle bins for apartments here. There is NO LOCAL recycling place to take recycling to.
So I leave out the bottles with a CRV (recycling deposit) for a guy who seems to come around on Sunday for them (this is just some random person digging in dumpsters for trash to recycle to get money back). I could try to get money back for them myself, but I don't want to make a 20-30 mile round trip to some flaky recycling place that always closes before it's stated hours. So many times I've driven out there for nothing and I checked the hours on the website first! All recycling places play this flaky stuff with the hours and close whenever they have taken "enough" for the day, but as more and more have closed, the length of the drive just to find out they are closed and can't take anything keeps increasing, it's increased enough that I no longer do it! And even those places ONLY ever take the recycling you can get money back on.
Occassionlly I'll take some recycling and put it in my mom's recycle bin.
That is pretty much the options here. No I'm tired of making myself a martyr to try to recycle, when we have a pretty much non-existent recycling system. And that's not even getting into if any of it actually gets recycled or not.
I haven't changed my (minimal) practices.
Increasingly grudgingly, yes.
Yes. It is mandated by my city. If you put recyclable items in the regular trash they can refuse to pick it up.
I buy so little (minimalism) but compost and recycle what I can.
Funny you should bring this up... I have changed my patterns of disposal over the past couple of decades, as many people have with regard to recycling, so it's part of my knee-jerk behavior. Most of my recyclables are cans and bottles. I drink seltzer in aluminum cans; DH drinks Pepsi in plastic bottles, and when DS is up, he drinks out of aluminum cans, so we have a lot cans and bottles. We either bring them to the transfer station, or we bring them to Burlington when we go there for other reasons and we put them out on the curb in front of DS's apartment, where they disappear in a matter of minutes.
But, getting back to Bright Green Lies, my big book of the month, the recycling section really hit home. We've talked about the questionable utility of recycling on this forum in other threads, but some of the statistics really drove it home to me.
So when you talk about aluminum, here is what the writers say about recycling that:
Aluminum use has doubled between 2005 and 2019.
Aluminum is used in paint
Aluminum is used in electronics: and the labor often involves the employment/exploitation of children working in toxic conditions to pry the electronics apart and melting them down
Recycling aluminum involves heating it to 1350F. Up to 15% is lost as dross. The procsss yields difficult-to manage waste material and recycling it also requires chlorine and produces dioxins.
That's just aluminum. I really wonder if it's better to bury those aluminum cans deep in landfills.
I feel a better move is to do more in the "Refuse" department.
frugal-one
3-21-21, 4:22pm
The recycling center near my house is finally fully operational after some closures during the pandemic. They require things to be sorted and you have to unbag into containers at the watchful eye of a worker, so contamination is minimal. And they do not take certain numbers of plastics. So I feel somewhat better about things actually being recycled. I have imagined that they get some sort of government subsidy, but they are a private company with a staff of disabled and learning impaired people. It seems like an ideal business model for recyclers.
My trash service does single stream recycling for a small charge, but I don't have much faith in single stream recycling. I suppose it's better than nothing. I have a mature yard with plenty of yard waste, especially in the fall and spring. I wish there was a place to take yard waste for composting or other use, but ther's nothing around that I know of.
Not sure if his is relevant but worth checking out?
https://www.litterless.com/where-to-compost/colorado
Our county's garden waste is picked up (sold to?) by a company that composts, bags and sells the end result back to consumers quite successfully.
Just curious. More amd more recycling programs are being scrapped across the US and there is debate if our recyclables are actually getting recycled - or just dumped on developing countries.
What's your take? Rob
Still active programs here, curbside. They have changed a few things as of early 2020. 1. No beverage bottles. 2. 3-7 plastics are in a separate bag and full tied bag goes into the recycle bin. 3. Bin gets plastic 1 and 2 except the bottles, paper, cardboard, aluminum and tin cans. Separate bin for compost. One can have compost delivered twice/year but it's like a dumptruck of 25y so the 'hood needs to have a spot and a lot of people to take it all quickly.
Still active programs here, curbside. They have changed a few things as of early 2020. 1. No beverage bottles. 2. 3-7 plastics are in a separate bag and full tied bag goes into the recycle bin. 3. Bin gets plastic 1 and 2 except the bottles, paper, cardboard, aluminum and tin cans. Separate bin for compost. One can have compost delivered twice/year but it's like a dumptruck of 25y so the 'hood needs to have a spot and a lot of people to take it all quickly.
Interesting on the beverage bottles, as those seem to be the one thing that many recycling programs will still take.
happystuff
3-21-21, 5:50pm
Interesting on the beverage bottles, as those seem to be the one thing that many recycling programs will still take.
https://www.packagingdigest.com/bottles/every-bottle-back-recycling-video-scores-super-bowl-lv-spot
Every Bottle Back Campaign commercial... I like to think it's a move in the right direction!
I grew up in Michigan with bottles requiring a 10 cent deposit. I had to look up when it was put into law - 1978. Those who wanted extra cash, such as homeless folks, collected bottles from the trash and roadsides. I wish every state did this.
happystuff
3-21-21, 5:58pm
I grew up in Michigan with bottles requiring a 10 cent deposit. I had to look up when it was put into law - 1978. Those who wanted extra cash, such as homeless folks, collected bottles from the trash and roadsides. I wish every state did this.
I agree. I made a decent amount during old bf's softball games back in the 80's by collecting the beer cans after each game. They used to have aluminum can recycle machines in various parking lots (like the clothing bins now-a-days). Take the cans, put into the machine and get the money dispensed - set price per pound. There was nary an aluminum can littering the area as far as the eye could see - LOL.
I agree. I made a decent amount during old bf's softball games back in the 80's by collecting the beer cans after each game. They used to have aluminum can recycle machines in various parking lots (like the clothing bins now-a-days). Take the cans, put into the machine and get the money dispensed - set price per pound. There was nary an aluminum can littering the area as far as the eye could see - LOL.
It wasn't just cans. It was glass and plastic, too.
GeorgeParker
3-21-21, 6:13pm
Funny you should bring this up... I have changed my patterns of disposal over the past couple of decades, as many people have with regard to recycling, so it's part of my knee-jerk behavior. Most of my recyclables are cans and bottles. I drink seltzer in aluminum cans; DH drinks Pepsi in plastic bottles, and when DS is up, he drinks out of aluminum cans, so we have a lot cans and bottles. We either bring them to the transfer station, or we bring them to Burlington when we go there for other reasons and we put them out on the curb in front of DS's apartment, where they disappear in a matter of minutes.
But, getting back to Bright Green Lies, my big book of the month, the recycling section really hit home. We've talked about the questionable utility of recycling on this forum in other threads, but some of the statistics really drove it home to me.
So when you talk about aluminum, here is what the writers say about recycling that:
Aluminum use has doubled between 2005 and 2019.
Aluminum is used in paint
Aluminum is used in electronics: and the labor often involves the employment/exploitation of children working in toxic conditions to pry the electronics apart and melting them down
Recycling aluminum involves heating it to 1350F. Up to 15% is lost as dross. The procsss yields difficult-to manage waste material and recycling it also requires chlorine and produces dioxins.
That's just aluminum. I really wonder if it's better to bury those aluminum cans deep in landfills.
I feel a better move is to do more in the "Refuse" department.But for that criticism to be valid you'd have to compare those negatives to the environmental and human costs of mining raw aluminum ore, transporting it, turning it into aluminum, disposing of the waste from the smelting process, restoring (or not restoring) the land where the ore was mined, the conditions under which the miners and truckers and smelter employees work, and the impact on local populations of being forced off of their farms so the aluminum company can turn that agricultural land into a strip mine....
And then there's the problem of where we're going to find enough space to create more landfills, unless you intend to load all the garbage on freight trains and dump it into the abandoned strip mines...
Classic Song: "What will we do when there's nothing left to do with the garbage?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpZ5AWIlaTw
Yes. It is all a habit we picked up living in Austin where recycling is ingrained. Here, we use the single stream recycling for an addl $5 a month through our trash company. My neighbors tell me we are wasting our money so they don't recycle. I compost veggie scraps. DH chops up any yard waste and that goes in compost pile too.
On the suggestion of a fellow gardener, I went to the Safeway bakery dept to see if I could buy some empty food-safe buckets for growing plants. I was so surprised to hear that they just throw them away rather than recycle.
Still recycling here.
Much of the recycling is curbside: glass, aluminum, plastics 1-5, paper. They will pick up textiles if bagged separately; that's sold to companies that use the fibers in new products (like home insulation). Still no curbside organic recycling; there are several places around the city where you can drop off organics you've saved up. We put ours (minus meat and dairy) in our compost bin when it's not full or frozen. Other metals are effectively recycled at the curb by guys who drive around and pick up anything that's largely metal (old water heaters, bicycle frames, old plumbing pipe, etc.).
There is a business in town that takes on people with -- umm, interesting -- pasts and gives them a place to live and vocational training; they recycle pretty much anything electronic or associated with electronics (compact disks, cassette tapes, cables, batteries, etc.). Some of it is sold as separated scrap; the good pieces are refurbished and offered for sale at two storefronts they have.
The city has maybe four all-city cleanups each year at which people can bring furniture, construction materials, appliances, tires, bicycles, paper records to be shredded, and hazardous waste. I volunteer at one of them each year so our car full of stuff gets in free.
And there are specialty places. There are a several city sites that take leaves and plants and composts them for free; a few sites also accept branches and brush and chips them for mulch that's available for free. IKEA and Best Buy will take lots of electronics, non-incandescent bulbs, and so on. We have two Habitat for Humanity ReStores. Supermarkets still take plastic grocery bags. Goodwill will, also. Paper bags are no trouble to get rid of; someone always wants those. The company that recycled carpet is no more, though.
The biggest problem is storing the stuff till it can find the right home.
Not sure if his is relevant but worth checking out?
https://www.litterless.com/where-to-compost/colorado
I appreciate the thought. I checked out the two close to me. My take is that they are talking about 3 or 5 gallon buckets per week with for a modest charge. I compost my kitchen waste but my yard debris is large sticks and branches and leaves mixed with large sticks and branches. I can fill a handful of 50 gallon containers a couple or few times a year. I might search a little further this year, but have not found anything practical yet or am missing something.
I appreciate the thought. I checked out the two close to me. My take is that they are talking about 3 or 5 gallon buckets per week with for a modest charge. I compost my kitchen waste but my yard debris is large sticks and branches and leaves mixed with large sticks and branches. I can fill a handful of 50 gallon containers a couple or few times a year. I might search a little further this year, but have not found anything practical yet or am missing something.
My fire pit loves large sticks and branches and leaves mixed with large sticks and branches.
My fire pit loves large sticks and branches and leaves mixed with large sticks and branches.
It's a thought. I'd trade a few 55 gallon containers of sticks and leaves for beer and BBQ. Or I could get a fire pit. I actually cut up anything bigger than an inch or so diameter for the wood stove and some of it needs to season.
I hate to date myself, but have some vague childhood memories of having an alley and everyone in the block had cement or brick what we called ash pits along the alleyway. A few houses just had barrels. Just about any household or yard refuse that would burn went into the ash pit and every few weeks or month or so the trash truck would come down the alley and clean out all burned trash from the ash pits up and down the alley. There were always things that wouldn't burn completely. It was sort of a big deal when the city passed burning restrictions. I suppose that was common in other places, too.
But for that criticism to be valid you'd have to compare those negatives to the environmental and human costs of mining raw aluminum ore, transporting it, turning it into aluminum, disposing of the waste from the smelting process, restoring (or not restoring) the land where the ore was mined, the conditions under which the miners and truckers and smelter employees work, and the impact on local populations of being forced off of their farms so the aluminum company can turn that agricultural land into a strip mine....
And then there's the problem of where we're going to find enough space to create more landfills, unless you intend to load all the garbage on freight trains and dump it into the abandoned strip mines...
Classic Song: "What will we do when there's nothing left to do with the garbage?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpZ5AWIlaTw
That's what I mean. There are two not-so great options: to EITHER exploit the land and people in order to create and then to recycle aluminum cans (also an exploitative process) OR just throw them in a landfill. The third option is: don't use aluminum cans.
early morning
3-22-21, 10:36am
The third option is: don't use aluminum cans. I try to use the DO NOT USE option for things in general but it is HARD, and for some things, just not possible for us. So we do curbside recycling and compost organic household waste. Larger yard waste (sticks too small to give away as firewood, hedge trimming, dried out Christmas tree, etc) just goes into the field, where it will eventually break down. I compost a lot of paper, and use it for mulch. I cancelled all physical papers years ago, and try to go paperless for most other things. I have a weakness for magazines (I currently get three plus hand-me-downs) but do pass most of them on or recycle them. Cat litter is wood pellets and is also dumped in the field. I don't know WHAT we'll do if we ever move to a field-less property!!
GeorgeParker
3-22-21, 3:04pm
That's what I mean. There are two not-so great options: to EITHER exploit the land and people in order to create and then to recycle aluminum cans (also an exploitative process) OR just throw them in a landfill. The third option is: don't use aluminum cans.Unless you're willing to totally not use the product that comes in those aluminum cans, you're just avoiding the cans in favor of a different kind of packaging which may be even worse environmentally.
That's the big problem with people who loudly proclaim that {fill in the blank} is bad. Often the alternatives are just as bad or worse. So unless you have a complete balanced picture of all the pros and cons of every alternative, you're just making a WAG that whatever you read about {fill in the blank} means it really is worst than the alternatives. And I don't know anyone who's smart enough to know everything about everything. That includes me.
You can buy a Soda Stream machine and make your own soda.
ApatheticNoMore
3-22-21, 3:12pm
Unless you're willing totally not use the product that comes in those aluminum cans, you're just avoiding the cans in favor of a different kind of packaging which may be even worse environmentally.
may, it's amazing we can't get good information on this isn't it? Of course if you have no good information then GIGO. My gut tells me glass has to have less impact than plastic and it's non toxic to dispose of etc., and likely than aluminum as well. So it is heavier to transport, but really it's non-toxic nature has to be worth a lot. I don't drink soda, the only aluminum cans I have contain alcohol, and no I'm not making my own for the drink I have every few months or something.
You can buy a Soda Stream machine and make your own soda.
Yes, that's true, Jeppy. After reading that chapter, I asked my family to get me a Soda Stream for my birthday.
GeorgeParker
3-22-21, 4:15pm
My gut tells me glass has to have less impact than plastic and it's non toxic to dispose of etc., and likely than aluminum as well. So it is heavier to transport, but really it's non-toxic nature has to be worth a lot.But glass is made from sand, and the world is running out of sand. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191108-why-the-world-is-running-out-of-sand
Most of the sand on earth (desert sand) isn't usable for the things we make from sand, and sand mining is destroying river deltas, eroding river beds and banks, destroying ocean-floor habitats by dredging them to get sand....
All of which just reinforces my previous point: Probably no one knows all the consequences and interconnections, and certainly lay people like us don't know even a fraction of it.
Here's what they say about glass:
When it's recycled, it starts out by being trucked in, where, from a conveyor belt, metal lids are removed
It passes through a sensor that sorts it by color
Glass is crushed into little fragments and heated to 2700 degrees F.
It's cured and cut into bottle-sized portions and then a machine injects molten glass into molds for bottles etc.
Producing one ton of glass produces about 2 tons of carbon dioxide. Recycled glass uses 40% less energy in the melting stage.
So, when you factor in transportation and processing, making one ton of recycled glass still produces over one ton of carbon dioxide. One study shoed that products with 50% recycled glass had only a 28% lower greenhouse gas impact.
Of course these figures come from just one book, but the sources are footnoted. So recycling glass does seem to be less harmful than plastics, but recycling is an energy-intensive endeavor in and of itself.
BikingLady
3-22-21, 6:26pm
All the amazon cardboard, for sure. I have a tub out full each week for recycle. I became bitter many times over with the process. I can't think of a recycling center near us anymore, reasons always the same, mess and cost. And once again I saw my recycling tossed in the back of the trash truck. Brown bag yard waste I watched the same thing last week.
Our recycling bin definitely gets used. SO loves buying stuff online so there’s lots of cardboard in it. The compost bin also gets used as well. It’s acceptable to put a lot of paper products in it that are not recyclable like pizza boxes and shredder confetti. We typically have only one half-full 13 gallon landfill garbage bag each week.
iris lilies
7-28-21, 8:29pm
Currently our city recycling dumpsters are being dumped into the landfill trucks and all of them are being hauled away to the same place, landfill.
This is because our city’s trash department is sorely lacking in employees and they just don’t have enough employees to run the separate truck routes, one for recycling and one for landfill.
I’m not motivated enough to save all my recyclables and haul them myself. That is why I paid a private company years ago to come and haul our recycles away. And then the city went into that business and killed the little guys doing recycling pick up.
lose/lose.
Thank you gubmnt efficiency, NOT. And it pains me to write this because I really do like the trash services of my city, it’s one of the few things that I will miss when I moved to Hermann.
it’s one of the few things that will mess when I moved to Hermann.
Too bad Hermann is messy.
iris lilies
7-28-21, 8:50pm
Too bad Hermann is messy.
Haha. I will correct it!
gimmethesimplelife
7-28-21, 8:51pm
This just in from the far NW suburbs - Surprise, Arizona no longer recycles glass and stopped a few plastics. They say there's no market. Rob
We used to recycle when we were taking our trash to the dump ourselves. Since getting a trash service several years ago, we no longer do because the trash service does not offer that option. I recently switched our cats to Weruva cat food. They offer a recycling program for their food pouches. They send you an envelope to stick all your cleaned out pouches in and can send them back to be recycled. It's small but at least it's something.
This just in from the far NW suburbs - Surprise, Arizona no longer recycles glass and stopped a few plastics. They say there's no market. Rob
That supports the fact that the recycling industry is just another industry. It doesn't really do the planet much good.
I still recycle by bringing my cans, bottles and paper to the local transfer station. Or, if I'm going to Burlington, I bring them to my son's house because if he puts redeemable cans on his curb they're gone in 20 minutes. At least SOMEONE gains from recycling, even if it's just earning $5. Sometimes I cash in the cans myself, but it's a bit inconvenient up here.
I did get a DrinkMate and it has drastically cut down on the soda and seltzer cans and bottles DH and I used to use.
Teacher Terry
7-29-21, 12:09pm
Since moving into the condo there’s no recycling. At the house I did it.
How much do you all pay for trash service? We pay anywhere from $31-$76/month depending on what size landfill dumpster we want (20 gallon -96 gallon) and then we get any size we want recycling and compost dumpsters.
The 20 gallon dumpster is more than enough for us. We typically generate about half of a 13 gallon bag of landfill trash each week.
ApatheticNoMore
7-29-21, 4:46pm
I don't pay for trash as it's covered in rent, so nothing. I have a trash bin at the apartment and no way to recycle at all.
So no I'm not going to recycle, unless it became possible (and possible isn't driving 30 miles out of my way and hoping someone takes the recycling).
Working from both ends, we are trying really hard not to purchase things in non-recyclable materials (plastic jugs, clamshells) and are also composting and recycling what we can. There just seems to be only so much you can do.
Can't remember who on this forum reported the laundry detergent that comes in cardboard envelopes with laundry sheets, but I love it, so thank you. No more plastic detergent jugs. And I'm not one who enjoyed making my own from borax, etc. Too gunky and unpredictable and a hassle.
Teacher Terry
7-29-21, 7:28pm
In the house it was 20/month for the big garbage can and recycling can. The first time I lived in a condo 24 years ago I kept the recycling in my spare bedroom and drove it to a place where I had to sort it. I am too old for that crap now. Actually I don’t know if there’s even a place like that to take it yourself.
happystuff
7-29-21, 7:36pm
We still have separate containers for garbage and recycle. As far as I've seen, they still get picked up separately, so the hope is they stay that way!
Still in the process of cutting back on the plastics. I've been using the homemade laundry soap, but I think other members of the household are still using the bottled stuff. I think the bar dish soap is being used, with little use of the liquid stuff at this point. Just found two bars of shampoo at Marshals for a really low price, so I plan to try it this weekend. Not sure I'll be able to get anyone else interested - we'll see.
My recycling center was down or limited operations during the pandemic, but are now almost back to full speed. They are a non-profit that uses developmentally disabled help. I can recycle number 2 and number 5 plastic, mixed paper products, cardboard, aluminum, etc, but it must all be separated and unloading is monitored. They haul glass to a local brewery to add to the brewery glass waste.
I don't have a high regard for single stream recycling, but sometimes that's all that's available. Other than the sorting process, it sounds like people add a lot of non-recyclables to contaminate things and add to the expense. All the focus on eliminating single use plastic bags at the grocery store seems a little myopic.
happystuff
7-29-21, 9:44pm
All the focus on eliminating single use plastic bags at the grocery store seems a little myopic.
I'm curious as why you say this? Do you really think a majority of people would give them up for... whatever they consider a "good reason"?
A while back there was a thread about the history of the plastic grocery bags which explained they were actually invented to help the environment. I believe the initial idea was that people would use them over and over and over... etc. While that would be wonderful, unfortunately not many folks take the plastic bags back to the store for reuse - they just get new. So, I don't believe them to be the friend of the environment they were invented to be.
I actually hope that grocery stores and such will start charging for the plastic bags, causing a decrease in their use and an increase in cloth.
I'm curious as why you say this? Do you really think a majority of people would give them up for... whatever they consider a "good reason"?
A while back there was a thread about the history of the plastic grocery bags which explained they were actually invented to help the environment. I believe the initial idea was that people would use them over and over and over... etc. While that would be wonderful, unfortunately not many folks take the plastic bags back to the store for reuse - they just get new. So, I don't believe them to be the friend of the environment they were invented to be.
I actually hope that grocery stores and such will start charging for the plastic bags, causing a decrease in their use and an increase in cloth.
There are several cities in my state that are or will be charging or banning single use grocery bags and the state has passed a referendum to phase them out totally in the next few years. It's not a bad thing, but it seems to me to give a token feel good for a bigger problem. Say the average grocery shopper buys a clam shell of berries, some pre-packed meat, bottled water, Doritos, and some detergent. It's now a reusable bag, probably plastic coated, full of single use plastics that probably won't be recycled. And that's not to mention the microfibers that come off in the wash from synthetics in clothing, like fleece jackets and yoga pants.
Maybe it's just a start, but it would make more sense to focus on deposits and returnables, better single stream recycling, and packaging alternatives.
Here in WA State, our plastic bag ban goes into effect Oct. 1. Retailers are to charge .08 for the reusable bags they sell there in the store and they must be manufactured from 40% recycled materials.
Personally I hope it cuts down on the number of plastic grocery bags I see hanging from trees around here.
It seems a bit silly to criticize this by relating it to all the other contaminants like synthetic microfibers from clothing. It's just one thing. We all can do more than just one thing. I don't only use reusable bags. I also refrain from buying clamshells. I use alternative detergent. I recycle what I can. It all adds up.
The big changes would be to go down to a 30 or 35 hour work week, allow most people to work from home, reintroduce home economics courses in the curriculum, and in general give the time for and encourage cooking with whole ingredients vs selling a bunch of packaged food. Not gonna happen.
ApatheticNoMore
7-30-21, 12:54pm
Yea, people want to reduce their carbon footprint for real, push to continue working from home. All that unnecessary driving. But even unprocessed food can come in plastic, the berries in clamshells etc..
iris lilies
7-30-21, 12:59pm
Here are photos of our wonderful trash service in the City of St. Louis. Granted, at the moment they have dire staff shortages which do not allow them to recycle. But in normal times we have 3 types of collections: single,stream, landfill, greens.
I tried to upload these to IMGUR so they would be right side up, but that loading is not successful these days for me.
So this will likely be upside down. The photo shows multiple large canisters in our alley Right by our garage. It could not be more convenient! While many citizens in my neighborhood do not want the large trash canisters near their property, I welcome them. We as major landowners in my neighborhood Hah have plenty of room to string them along our property.
Every three months DH has to push them back down the alley with his truck because they creep into our garage door space, but he doesn’t mind doing that. The average Joe will of course be unable to do that and whoever buys our house will be incapable no doubt.
We have a nice alley with old brick paving. Our trash is serviced from the alley like civilized people. That is also of course how the automobiles access their house, from the alley. Again, like civilized people, we put the ugly services behind our houses.
A new landfill Dumpster appeared several months ago and we didn’t even ask for it. I’m not sure we really needed it but it doesn’t hurt.
We also have three canisters on the opposite side of our garage next to our neighbor’s house. The neighbor also has an extra lot, so has room to store the big dumpsters.
I made a sign during Covid to recognize our trash guys because I love them! Could this sign have any connection with our unexpected gift of another dumpster? Hmmmmm. I put weeds into the green canister and the city cooks it all into compost which they deliver to our community garden where anybody can load up their car with the stuff.
In this photo you will also see a custom-made prop board DH made for me years ago. It’s one of the nicest presents I have ever received, and I have 6 of the,. It is custom made to fit the lids of these dumpsters, and then there’s a hole that I hang it up on a nail. SWEET!
3883
I tried to upload these to IMG you are so that they wouldn’t be upside down, but that is not successful these days for me.
I turned it around for you.
https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/227922894_179002647550282_7824192030837239455_n.jp g?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=ae9488&_nc_ohc=OXGBPf_morEAX8WjMZY&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=8f3da431383379891cb3b500a1491c29&oe=61291F3A
iris lilies
7-30-21, 2:59pm
I turned it around for you.
https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/227922894_179002647550282_7824192030837239455_n.jp g?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=ae9488&_nc_ohc=OXGBPf_morEAX8WjMZY&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=8f3da431383379891cb3b500a1491c29&oe=61291F3A
oh thank you! My beautiful trash dumpsters!
happystuff
7-30-21, 3:28pm
There are several cities in my state that are or will be charging or banning single use grocery bags and the state has passed a referendum to phase them out totally in the next few years. It's not a bad thing, but it seems to me to give a token feel good for a bigger problem. Say the average grocery shopper buys a clam shell of berries, some pre-packed meat, bottled water, Doritos, and some detergent. It's now a reusable bag, probably plastic coated, full of single use plastics that probably won't be recycled. And that's not to mention the microfibers that come off in the wash from synthetics in clothing, like fleece jackets and yoga pants.
Maybe it's just a start, but it would make more sense to focus on deposits and returnables, better single stream recycling, and packaging alternatives.
Thanks for responding. Yes, I can see your point. And, YES, I definitely agree with a focus on deposits and returnables!
I think I posted this a long while ago, but when I lived in Kansas back in the 80's, there used to be machines call "goats" in store parking lots. You could take aluminum cans, drop them in and get cash back for them. Not alot, but enough to where I rarely, if ever, saw an aluminum can as litter! I, personally, make about $17 from the beer cans for an entire season of men's baseball. LOL.
happystuff
7-30-21, 3:31pm
Here in WA State, our plastic bag ban goes into effect Oct. 1. Retailers are to charge .08 for the reusable bags they sell there in the store and they must be manufactured from 40% recycled materials.
Personally I hope it cuts down on the number of plastic grocery bags I see hanging from trees around here.
It seems a bit silly to criticize this by relating it to all the other contaminants like synthetic microfibers from clothing. It's just one thing. We all can do more than just one thing. I don't only use reusable bags. I also refrain from buying clamshells. I use alternative detergent. I recycle what I can. It all adds up.
I agree, Kay. In the end, the one less plastic water bottle I use and discard, is one less that goes out into the environment.
Probably about oh...6 months ago a small company I think out of Seattle was promoting here in SW WA offering a way to recycle all the hard to recycle things like block styrofoam, light bulbs, batteries, etc. They were starting out small with the intent of growing over time. There was a piece in the paper about them and I guess they got a really great response because....wait for it...
Suddenly ---within months---Waste Connections (Waste Management) our local contractor for garbage/recycling, was able to accept ALL those items which previously they adamantly stated they could not. (for a price, of course) Not only that, they have receptacles which look very much like the ones used by the small Seattle company. Separate bags for plastic sheeting (like TP packaging), batteries, light bulbs, etc. The boxes even look the same, like the old porch milk delivery boxes of old (remember those?)
This all makes me go hmmmm.
happystuff
10-5-21, 10:11am
Probably about oh...6 months ago a small company I think out of Seattle was promoting here in SW WA offering a way to recycle all the hard to recycle things like block styrofoam, light bulbs, batteries, etc. They were starting out small with the intent of growing over time. There was a piece in the paper about them and I guess they got a really great response because....wait for it...
Suddenly ---within months---Waste Connections (Waste Management) our local contractor for garbage/recycling, was able to accept ALL those items which previously they adamantly stated they could not. (for a price, of course) Not only that, they have receptacles which look very much like the ones used by the small Seattle company. Separate bags for plastic sheeting (like TP packaging), batteries, light bulbs, etc. The boxes even look the same, like the old porch milk delivery boxes of old (remember those?)
This all makes me go hmmmm.
I agree with the "hmmm....", but am glad to hear that those hard to recycle items are getting picked up! This may sound a bit pessimistic, but I really hope they are all actually being recycled!
I still recycle because the county provides curbside pickup. However, I have no faith it does any good. The processing center near my home closed, and who knows where the stuff gets sent.
happystuff
10-5-21, 12:30pm
I still recycle because the county provides curbside pickup. However, I have no faith it does any good. The processing center near my home closed, and who knows where the stuff gets sent.
I understand what you are saying. I'm still trying to have hope that stuff does actually get recycled, but I'm turning more and more of my efforts into watching the types of packaging of the things I purchase. My "no plastic bottles" for dish soap and laundry soap is going okay, but only because the rest of the family is just now using up the last bottles of what we had in stock - lol.
Teacher Terry
10-5-21, 12:37pm
My condo building doesn’t recycle unfortunately. Although I do wonder with all the issues if it just ends up in the garbage anyway.
thinkgreen
10-6-21, 2:47am
Most of our recycling now goes to a young friend who works at a daycare center. She uses it all for arts and crafts or other game playing activities. She even takes the net bags that onions, oranges, avocados come in and uses them to texture paint things. It's quite interesting all the things she does and I admire her creativity. One day she took bottles of colored water and filled up old mustard or salad dressing bottles and the kids had a ball. They squirted into buckets and created new color combinations and really had lots of fun. I'm not sure how messy this day was but lots of good times were had.
We’ve always recycled. When we lived in a desert town, the only place to do it was on the local military post, so we hauled it out there. In college we donated our bottles to the glass blowing class and the newspapers to the art department.
if our local dump stopped recycling, we’d find another way.
catherine
10-6-21, 11:21am
So, just as a little brainstorming exercise, what are the ways you actually REDUCE consumption / need to recycle? Here are some examples:
Rather than this/This
Food waste/compost
Magazines/online reading
Saran Wrap or aluminum foil/beeswax or repurposed jars with lids
Bottled or cans of soda/water from a counter filter or a Brita or SodaStream
Disposable utensils/Reusable utensils
Paper napkins/cloth napkins
Paper towels/rags and cloths or repurposed newspaper sheets
Laundry detergent containers/DIY laundry detergent or detergent in biodegradable boxes
How many of these substitutions do you use?
(Hoping to get input from our new member, Fruchtpilz, because she said she's into zero waste)
happystuff
10-6-21, 11:30am
I do all of the above, except magazines. Child and spouse both received magazine subscriptions as gifts, and I receive one after having made a donation (Nature Conservancy), so we get those. Plus, as I've stated elsewhere several times, I'm using bar soap for dishes and trialing bar soap shampoo. The shampoo I have right now lathers nicely, but there is a smell to it that I'm not comfortable with, so right now I'm rinsing my hair extremely well.
Teacher Terry
10-6-21, 12:49pm
I do 5 of those. The biggest thing is the soda stream because we drink a fair amount of sparkling water.
You can use magazines for collages and to make papier mache' pulp.
SteveinMN
10-7-21, 10:37am
Rather than this/This
We still use paper napkins and paper towels but otherwise we're pretty much OK on the entire list. We even reuse the disposable utensils we get with takeout food.
I wonder about the cradle-to-grave carbon footprint of the creation of material that's suitable for cleanup at the end of its life (for example, old denim or polyester are not good for mopping up) and then repeatedly washing them (hot water, soap, heat and electricity for the laundry room) versus the footprint of another package of paper towels or napkins -- many of which become compost "drys" for us if they weren't used to mop up something greasy or toxic. Not taking a side; I just genuinely don't know which is greener across an entire life of a product.
Then there is the ever-increasing suspicion that checking off all of the items on the Rather than this list wouldn't save the planet an eensy-weensy fraction as much as, say, cleaning up combustion on one cargo ship engine for a year. Again, no hard numbers here. But it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that individuals like us are saving it with a teaspoon while industry and services are throwing it out with a shovel.
happystuff
10-7-21, 10:49am
We still use paper napkins and paper towels but otherwise we're pretty much OK on the entire list. We even reuse the disposable utensils we get with takeout food.
I wonder about the cradle-to-grave carbon footprint of the creation of material that's suitable for cleanup at the end of its life (for example, old denim or polyester are not good for mopping up) and then repeatedly washing them (hot water, soap, heat and electricity for the laundry room) versus the footprint of another package of paper towels or napkins -- many of which become compost "drys" for us if they weren't used to mop up something greasy or toxic. Not taking a side; I just genuinely don't know which is greener across an entire life of a product.
Then there is the ever-increasing suspicion that checking off all of the items on the Rather than this list wouldn't save the planet an eensy-weensy fraction as much as, say, cleaning up combustion on one cargo ship engine for a year. Again, no hard numbers here. But it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that individuals like us are saving it with a teaspoon while industry and services are throwing it out with a shovel.
I sort of agree with you, Steve, but I still like to believe that all those teaspoons become tablespoon, which become cups to quarts to pints to gallons, etc. I also think that as people purchase less because they have longer-use items (i.e. cloth napkins versus paper napkins), this will effect the manufacturing and transportation. Who knows... maybe the collective *we* have actually already reduced the number of cargo ships because of our reduced use of throw-away items!
Almost all the substitutions there we do. Except this one:
Paper towels/rags and cloths or repurposed newspaper sheets
I do BOTH.
Paper towels are used for fat clean out in pots & pans and goopy food waste. We saturate them rather than only using them for one thing, then they're put with the rest of the goopy food waste into a paper milk carton. (The cartons are stapled shut when full and taken to the dump. We do not have a garbage disposal.)
Paper towels are because we have our own septic system and accumulated fats are really hard on them, so we avoid putting fats down our drain as much as possible. I'd love to use rags, but it wouldn't solve the problem. Sometimes I use newspaper, but I drain things on a cookie rack, not paper towels. For years, I used newspaper when I was draining foods like bacon. It isn't that hard to add a small metal rack to a cooling pan and pick up the bacon, etc. and drain it. If you have to, put the rack over paper. But that doesn't clean out the fats in the pan.
I render some bacon fat and reuse it. But I don't reuse all our fats, just some beef, pork, chicken, and bacon fat. Beef or pork fat is mostly used when cooking the meat. I'll cut it off the meat and use it instead of other added fats for cooking the meat. I use the fat in hamburger the same way. I start the meat very low until there's a small skim of melted fat on the bottom of the pan, then I move the meat around, turn the heat up, and finish cooking.
I work pretty hard at either cooking food in/with the fat it comes with and we eat it. OR cooking the food in such a way that all the fats are in one place so they can be removed easily. The fat removal happens with paper towels.
I wash dishes with rags. If it was good enough for my grandma, why did I need a piece of plastic to wash dishes? I do laundry every day, a small load. The rags accumulate so that they need washing about 1x a week. We use flannel for the dishes, terry washcloths to clean counters, and other rags for everything else. I also use cloth placemats and napkins.
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