Zero Waste

[baymule]

Our Walmart has recycle bins inside the door for their plastic bags. I reuse them, especially in the summer when the garden is in. We sell or give away excess vegetables and I use the walmart bags for that.

We use cardboard in the garden to smother weeds.

Now you got me thinking about what's in the trash can.

 

[Hinotori]

The plastic bag ban was delayed a month here. So Feb 1st no more.

I've been using canvas bags for years for groceries. They get tossed in with the towels for washing. I do carry a few of those nylon bags in purse in case I have to run into some place unexpectedly.

I'm saving most the cardboard for the garden right now.

Tea bags and their little tags go in the compost. The staples rust to nothing so no worries.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Thanks for starting this thread @tortoise!

This is something near and dear to us. DH is in charge of our recyclables here and it is a labor of love for him. It's not easy here to recycle. DH separates everything and even washes the glass (required). We have to take it to a recycle center that's 20 miles away. We hold it here until we have enough to warrant the trip and/or combine the trip with another outing.

Cardboard is used in the garden. Junk mail is for starting the charcoal for the smoker. Leftover food is never wasted with dogs, goats, chickens and pigs!

 

[Hinotori]

We have curbside recycling. Yes, even out in the country here as we're still close enough to the dump for trucks to do the rounds and the county to care. Glass must be taken to the drop off locations, though. It's picked up every 2 weeks opposite the yard waste pick up. If I remember right, the recycling is mandatory. Heck in Seattle you'll get fined for food waste in garbage. That goes in yard waste for composting.

Obviously I compost my yard waste myself, but they have a facility to do it beside the dump.

 

[flowerbug]

one thing that is irking me about a lot of the crafting projects you see on-line that involve plastics is that it then turns that plastic into something that will be harder or impossible to recycle later.

also, any plastic left outside will eventually decay and start breaking apart, even those that have UV stableizers in them can eventually have issues unless it is protected by something else.

around here with the extreme cold of winters any plastics can get really brittle and shatter.

but then even glass or rock has that kind of problem when they weather and get water in cracks, etc. but at least when they weather they aren't things i have to pick up and dispose of, they can be left where they are.

wood, wood chips, cardboard, cardstock, craft paper and paper are still my favorite materials (in that order), they all eventually get broken down by worms and the other soil community creatures and turned into humus. plastics have been nothing but headaches unless i can toss them in the recycling bin.

we do have uses for plastic containers inside and for food stuff, but in my own uses i try to only keep certain ones and get the rest into the recycle bin because i don't have enough room here to store them all. it's bad enough i'm collecting what i do and i can pare things down here now that i'm getting my room cleaned and reorganised again now that bean sorting and drying has finished up (i still need to work on the beans more but that happens during the rest of the winter).

 

[baymule]

When I am canning or doing a lot of cooking, I use up darn near every dish towel I have, and that's a drawer full. I also use a paper towel to wipe out skillets to keep the grease out of the septic, so don't feel so bad FEM.

Speaking of grease in the pipes, I found my husband pouring grease down the sink one time and fussed at him about it. His answer? "It's ok because I run hot water down the sink after that." My answer? "Well don't 'cha think that all that hot water will might, just maybe COOL OFF between here and the septic tank and clog up the pipes?"

 

[FarmerJamie]

I am just gonna stay out of this one......

 

[tortoise]

I use hand towels and change / wash them frequently, at least once per day. Usually 2 bathroom hand towels and 4 kitchen dish towels per day. If someone is sick, I'll put them in the wash after one use. When I am filling the washing machine, I go through the house and grab all the small towels and put them in.

We wash bath towels once a week (color coded towels so no sharing). We wear clothes a few times until theyre dirty or smelly. But the hand towels - I wash them constantly.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We wear clothes a few times until theyre dirty or smelly. But the hand towels

Holy Cow - I am the worst at wearing clothes a "few" times, lol. And, if you saw me ya'll would think I'm dirt poor and/or homeless or all of the above. My farm clothes are ragged, lol.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

It's that "other stuff" that'll get ya!

I definitely have town clothes and farm clothes too.