What do you do to reduce, reuse, recycle?

[velochic]

We try in every way to be eco-conscious. We try to limit our disposable goods. We recycle what we can. I reuse what I can, especially glass jars and bottles. We don't eat processed foods, which really reduces the amount of trash we generate. We eat organic. Unfortunately we can't compost bio goods. But I don't feel like it's enough. What kinds of things do you do to reduce, reuse, recycle? I need new ideas.

 

[Ishbel]

Like you, I eat almost totally organically, which certainly cuts down on packaging, although some things are tinned, eg tomatoes, an occasional tin of soup, tomato puree!

Glass jars, wine bottles, beer bottles go to the various coloured glass recycling bins outside my local supermarket. Newspapers are collected separately by our dustbin collectors in a special box that the Council provides.

We have three compost bins on the go all the time, at various stages of development.

Clothes that are still wearable we take to charity shops, such as Oxfam, Cancer Relief etc.

Reading spectacles, we recycle by donating in a bin in our optician's store when a prescription is changed. They go to needy people in the developing world.

 

[mish]

Mostly, I recycle/donate clothing/shoes/furniture etc. to the Cancer Society or Salvation Army. Used to have a recycle bin at a nearby local market, but now it's a 99 cent store. Would like to see more of those bins around. Problem is, in So California, everything is so spread out, you have to pack everything up and drive it some where. Don't use many canned goods, but the 2 litre soda bottles take up space.

Re ideas - don't know if this will work for you, since you eat mostly organic -- but a thought - re soup or tuna cans... try using them for baking. Guessing before muffin tins were invented, people used cans for baking bread or individual little cakes.

 

[Ishbel]

That's a good hint, Mish. I've got LOADS of different sizes of ramekins and muffin and bun trays, though!

We're lucky that our recycling bins are so near the supermarket - so we just load up the car and offload the recycling before loading the car up with more food!

I suspect that we are pretty 'green' here, in comparison to lots of countries. I know that Germany is good, too - and I believe The Netherlands. But France are lagging way behind, and I have seen no evidence of recycling measures in the areas of Italy I've visited - but then, I haven't been looking for them.... maybe the are just well-disguised?!

 

[mish]

Oh, Ish, I forgot about one - coffee cans. Think years ago people would bake breads and such in them. Not a coffee drinker, but maybe I could have punched holes in them, used them as mobiles or put candles inside. Used to be a crafter, & I'll bet you could make jewelry out of those pop tops on cans - or an interesting window curtain.

Look what this fellow did, LOL.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/TXHOUbeer.html

 

[vyapti]

Eugene has a pretty progressive recycling program. You are actually charged if you don't recycle. Waste management provides a recycle bin with your garbage that's twice the size of my garbage can, and another one for yard waste.

We fill our recycle bins every week. Sometimes our 'garbage' can, for a family of 5, is filled with only 1-2 tall kitchen bags.

 

[Ishbel]

Or paint them with a plant-friendly paint and use to grow herbs?l

 

[mish]

Or paint them with a plant-friendly paint and use to grow herbs?l

There ya go, Ish! Planters. Had a friend that used an old antique oven as a planter, with plants coming out of the burners and barber chairs & a barber pole on his patio Watched one decorating show where they used an old fridge as an armoire/bookshelf & an old wooden door as a coffee table. Another friend made lamps out of Sparklett's bottles. Use a colander as a lampshade

 

[Trip]

I'm mainly composting and recycling my cans and boxes... should do more but... oh well at least it's something....

 

[mudbug]

While you've got the tap flowing waiting for water to heat up to wash your face, hands, etc. - fill up empty containers and use that water on your houseplants, pet dishes, outside plants.

 

[Ishbel]

There ya go, Ish! Planters. Had a friend that used an old antique oven as a planter, with plants coming out of the burners and barber chairs & a barber pole on his patio Watched one decorating show where they used an old fridge as an armoire/bookshelf & an old wooden door as a coffee table. Another friend made lamps out of Sparklett's bottles. Use a colander as a lampshade

A popular thing here a few years ago was to use a Belfast Sink (aka Butler's sink) as a planter. So many of them were removed when people had old houses re-modelled!

 

[licia]

We recycle everything we possibly can. DH picks up cans when he does his walk and takes them to a collection site. We also recycle all glass containers, plastics, etc. I have a huge compost pile in progress at all times and 2 others in different stages. We donate clothing to our church clothes closet, Salavation Army, Goodwill Industries, and to a center for abused women and children. We have very little to go in the garbage, since most of what I cook is fresh, or frozen. I think if we develop an attitude of recycling and saving, it does make us think about whatever we can do to help more.

 

[CharlieD]

Wow, you guys are serious.

Not to say that I do not recycle, I do, but not to that extent. Well, nothing even close to that. Recycling here is a big sham. My mother-in-law gets credit for recycling. Here I have to pay extra if I recycle. Then the company turns around and sells the recycled goods to recycle place, you know like aluminum cans, glass, etc. I resent that. People worry about plastic, well the thing is that dump sites are filled with paper, by far more than plastic.

 

[Ishbel]

I am assuming that our local council also gets money for the recyling stuff that we put in bins. If it helps to keep down my already expensive 'council tax', then I'm quite happy for them to do it!

If we don't, as individuals, make a determined effort NOW, the landfill sites will just get bigger and bigger. The USA may have space to use, but we are a tiny island and certainly don't have that luxury.

 

[licia]

We may have lots of land here, but it shouldn't be covered by landfills. It is totally irresponsible for anyone to be unconcerned about the trash they generate and the considerate disposal of it. I'm always bothered by the sight of trash thrown about on the highways and streets. Some folks seem to be content to live like pigs.

 

[buckytom]

littering makes me crazy as well licia. i can't count how many times i've walked or skated past someone as they just drop their garbage on the ground. i'll stop and ask them if they were planning on having someone pick that up for them. you'd be surprised at the startled and embarrassed looks i've gotten, because they know it's wrong, and it's just being lazy.

every time i go backpacking, i always bring a few extra garbage bags that are full by the time i carry them out. i must look like a gypsy caravan with all of the bags tied to my pack as i get back to my truck after a trip.

anyway, getting back to recycling. i don't understand why, but every 2 weeks, when our town alternately picks up recyclable plastic and glass, or paper products, we have 2 to 3 times as much ready to go than our neighbors. i mean, we also produce more regular garbage than them it seems, with the pets and the baby, but i make sure to constantly seperate any aluminum, plastic, glass, newspapers, and cardboard that can be recycled.
so, when they're putting out 1 container of bottles and cans or a small tied bunch of papers, we have 3 full containers, and a giant pile of papers and boxes.
it's really not difficult to go the extra step to recycle as much as possible.

when it comes to saving energy, though, i have become my father. i walk around the house, constantly turning off tv sets and lights in empty rooms, and adjusting the temprature of the heat or a.c., grumbling all the while.

and the final killer for new parents: the age old trick of going for a ride in the car to help a child take a nap is over with gas prices going up. my wife does this often, so one recently i calculated that she drove enough to have burned about 2 gallons, or over $6 in gas, just to get the baby to sleep.

oh, btw, the reason mudbug's daughter is rebellious is from years of having to wash her face with ice cold water, so it wasn't wasted... (lol, hee hee. tiptoeing away...)

 

[Ishbel]

Licia
I certainly wasn't advocating that the American countryside be despoiled with unnecessary landfill sites - nothing was further from my mind.

 

[buckytom]

don't worry ish. that's what pennsylvania is for...

 

[Ishbel]

Hahahaaaaaa - can't wait for the residents of that state to see your post

 

[bethzaring]

I have been concentrating on reducing my consumption of paper towels. I do not know if these beasties are available outside of the US, but they are available on rolls and you just rip off a square, use it, and then throw it away. I used to go through them like water, but since I have been very conscious about how I use them, I have made a hugh change in my consumption of them. I can get an 8 pack to last a whole year. I try to use a sponge or something else that is washable, to use in place of a paper towel.