Micropolitics: Things that happen in our neighborhood

Random things:

I find myself embarrassed to put Cardboard that has been wet and is now dry in the landfill dumpster. This is where it should go. It should not go into recycle dumpster because once cardboard has been wet the fibers are ruined for recycling. Yet what if my neighbors find that I have put cardboard in a Landfill dumpster? They don’t know that the cardboard is not fit for recycling. Oh what a dilemma, what a dilemma.Have we come to the point in our society where I should put a note on it to say this cannot be recycled, was wet, I know it! signed iris lilies

haha! first of all, I had no idea you shouldn't recycle cardboard that has gotten wet.

Second, I can't believe you care what your neighbors think.

Well, at least it wasn't a plastic straw. Those evil things have to go in a landfill whether they got wet or not...

So I learned something today.

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Originally Posted by catherine

haha! first of all, I had no idea you shouldn't recycle cardboard that has gotten wet.

Second, I can't believe you care what your neighbors think.

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Well, DH and I take the sorting of garbage seriously. We have three large bins in our alley: garden green stuff, landfill stuff, bottle/cans/paper recycling and we sort carefully. We break down our boxes. We bitch and moan when others do not break down their boxes. We have one other serious recycler on our block and he is the guy who worries me—will he think we are ignoramuses for placing cardboard in the landfill bin?

This serious stuff! The politics of recycling...

I only recently learned anput cardboard that once wet, our recycler cannot use it. Perhaps yoir companies vary in that requirement. This is a problem foe us because I store objects for recycling on our patio. Sometimes it rains on them.

We each have our own big recycling can with a lid. I break down the boxes so everything fits but rarely anything gets wet. I am serious about recycling too:))

Ok, so here is another “political” thing. I will term these things “micro politics” of the neighborhood.

One new enthusiastic community garden member was yakking about waste in garden beds, “ food insecurity” of our fellow citizens, and her thoughts about picking that foodstuff going to waste.

Well, I can hardly roll my eyes far enough to express my boredom with this tired idea. About every 2 years someone gets a bee on their bonnet to take up all of this food and deliver to “the needy. “ That effort lasts about one time, maybe two, usually a couple of weeks.

I have nothing against her contacting all bed owners and getting their permission to pick their produce. I have MAJOR issue with her commandering the veggies and fruits on ner own without permission of owners, which is what she wants to do. Oh yeah, I forgot to say that we invented a new system this year where garden bed owners may place a yellow stake in their bed, and that indicates the veggies can be picked,by anyone. Intended to happen when on vacation, but really, any time is fine.

I dutifully made the yellow stakes (all the while rolling my eyes as I knew this is another feel-good effort that
ikely will come to naught) and sent email reminders out to everyone, sent a reminder out again. Not ONE person has used these stakes.

I respect property rights and these people have paid for a garden plot and are keeping it up, according to our Gardener’s Agreement. There is no covenant that empowers this new garden member to grab produce from others, empathy overflowing or not, quivering ball of concern or not.

So, taking from the rich (in tomatoes) to give to the poor (without tomatoes) is her jam.

amyway, I told her my view of this, but encouraged her to be The garden Leader next year and maybe work this issue into a new Agreement where bed owners would sign away their rights to “excess” produce. She will have to get this voted on by all and I think she will have a hellofa time.

We take our extra fruit to soup kitchens but I sure wouldn’t take other people’s. That would take a lot of nerve.

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Originally Posted by Teacher Terry

We take our extra fruit to soup kitchens but I sure wouldn’t take other people’s. That would take a lot of nerve.

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To be fair, she is viewing it in the context of unkept beds. But I say, unkept bed is a separate issue from unpicked fruits.

Last year we had a random goody dooby, not even a resident here, who hatched an elaborate plan to bring “the homeless” into our community garden to harvest and also clean beds. So much empatheic problem solving and do-gooder energy! ideas! She is an idea person, I could tell.

Stupid woman didnt even know there was a community garden in her own neighborhood that runs according to the communist principles she espouses. That garden is worked by a few so all can pick from it, and that is cool because thems the rules there.

I don’t get people intruding in others plans. If you want to do something don’t infringe on existing resources.

That's strange..........our local recycling (the street department), has a huge open metal bin for cardboard. It gets wet all the time.

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Originally Posted by CathyA

That's strange..........our local recycling (the street department), has a huge open metal bin for cardboard. It gets wet all the time.

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Yeah, that was news to me, too. We only recently received a covered bin for recycling (once we went to non-sorted recycling); before that, if it rained or snowed on recycling day, stuff got wet. Given what the recycling company would not take (and for which they left little nastygrams), I can't think they would take wet cardboard they could not use.

On top of that, there is a cardboard-recycling facility not far from here where pallets and bales of cardboard are clearly visible in the open through the chain-link fence as front-end loaders work with it. If they could not use wet cardboard, I don't believe they would go to the expense off managing it.

Perhaps it's that wet cardboard is not as high a grade as virgin cardboard; on the other hand, with the increasing amount of recycled cardboard boxes around and being recycled, perhaps the entire chain is seeing reduced cardboard quality.

Recycling is not practiced here to any extent so it's a non-issue. We continue to recycle just about everything the way we were "trained" back home so it's just an automatic thing for us which many here don't share. I knew about the wet cardboard, pizza boxes and various plastics that aren't accepted. I discussed recycling with a neighbor here once and she said it all goes to China anyway so why bother. Huh? The community garden where I volunteer has no fences so the homeless (excuse me, the vagrants) who camp nearby help themselves. I mostly keep my mouth shut even though these kind of things/people bother me.

Here's a thought. If it matters to you that others see your cardboard (after being wet) in the dumpster, go ahead and put it in the recycling bin. At the recycling center they will sort it and THEY can put it in the dumpster if it is not up to recyclable standards! I helped out (volunteered) in a recycling center this Summer for awhile and they do sort. So, let them make the call. Your neighbors need never know!

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Originally Posted by Teacher Terry

So I learned something today.

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I learned two things:
Wet cardboard - bad
plastic straws not recyclable (oops - must dig through bin)


IL do you not have anywhere in your two yards that you need to mulch? I use cardboard as weedbarrier everywhere. I have to build up gardens (have about 1-2" dirt max on this rocky glade). Current project is a 40' berm for a pollinator garden.

OK...I'll be less "judgie" of my neighbors when I see cardboard in their trash bins. Maybe they too know something I don't....though I doubt it. No curbside recycle here so most people are just too darn lazy to drive to the recycle bins or center.

I watched a special on TV about how much time and money is spent sorting the recycling because people don’t know what they are doing so I disagree with SEL.

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Originally Posted by CathyA

That's strange..........our local recycling (the street department), has a huge open metal bin for cardboard. It gets wet all the time.

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Yes, Hermann’s recycling bins for cardboard are open to the elements.

This morning I quieried the recycling person in our city for confirmation of the wet cardboard idea.
I only learned this about a year ago,and was not happy to hear it. I will let you know what she says.

and keep in mind, each recycling company has different standards, so what is true in my area may not be true in yours.

I was wrong about the cardboard, sorry! Here is the amswer from our city’s recycling guru:

“Great question! As long as the cardboard is dry and most importantly-not moldy,, you can recycle it your Blue Bin. Thanks!