This is my first time at this forum, I was referred here from the Soil & Compost guys. Here's my question:

I am looking for web sites or information on ways to constructively dispose of household trash. We already recycle everything the local places will take (cans/bottles, newpaper/magazines/junkmail, all cardboard, plastic grocery bags). I'd like ideas on what to do with food packaging, styrofoam, plastic food storage bags, etc. I feel horrible putting them in the trash. Surely there is some better way to get of the plastic bread bags, the inner liner from the cereal box, the plastic items that are not #2, etc.

I have started composting, so I don't throw away much food waste, and we really don't generate ALL that much trash, but the stuff we do throw in the landfill seems to be the stuff that will be around forever. It's pretty much impossible to shop in a normal grocery store and not bring some of this stuff home.

Any ideas would be great. I'm on a mission!!

some thoughts.

The book "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" has lots of recycling ideas in it (your library might have it). They're scattered around the money saving ideas. The best part of the book for me was getting into thinking of reusing everything possible and buying with as little packaging as possible....cheaper for you and better for the environment.

Thanks for the Ideas and I hope this thread continues for awhile so I can recycle this plastic LOL
Oh by the way..I feed cereral boxes, toilet paper tubes, envelopes, etc to my wormbin.. so far they seem to like it. Smitty

I teach arts & crafts for our city recreation program & I've also taught art in the public schools here.We use lots of containers,foam trays,cardboard rolls,boxes,jars,cans,etc.Many preschools,Sunday schools, etc. have 'wish' lists they send home to parents Budgets don't often cover much in the way of supplies & freebies are always appreciated.

If you don't have kids of your own,consider donating to local schools or community centers - just make sure stuff is clean & sorting it helps too.

I've even used clean plastic bags to stuff little hand sewn pillows = )

hope this helps....

I also recycle paper knapkins and paper towels in the bottoms of my pots for starting seeds. It keeps the soil in and later biodegrades when I plant in the garden.

As for plastics. I am trying to reuse as much plastic as plant containers, seed starters. Milk containers/soda bottles are cut to make "collars" that keep the slugs off the seedlings--this works excellently, bTw.

Plastic bleach containers cut into strips make great garden markers to tell you what is planted where. Use a permanent pen.

Styrofoam is just bad news, but I do try to reuse it as much as possible. Meat trays become trays for drying out saved seed or to catch water from pots. I just try to buy as little styrofoam as possible.

Good luck and keep the ideas coming.

Do you know anyone who makes candles? Many plastic food containers, and some coated cardboard ones, make excellent candle molds!

Many re-use ideas at the link to follow ...

I buy a big bag of white shop towels at Walmart to use instead of paper towels and napkins at our house. I don't sort my laundry as we homesteaders don't have fancy wardrobes to worry about so I leave my washer lid open all day and when it is filled up at days end or whenever, including the shop towels, it all gets washed then hung outside to dry with the rest ofo the laundry. (saves bunches on electricity) A bag of shop towels lasts me at least three-five years of heavy use and are very inexpensive.B.

I'm not an expert on this or anything but the couple of times composting junk mail or newpapers has been mentioned makes me concerned. It might be prudent to be very careful about using these items in your compost. The ink they contain (yes, even 'soy ink') almost certainly has various toxins in it, including heavy metals.
If you're determined to compost it anyway, then please don't use it near where you'll be growing edibles.

www.dmaconsumers.org has a service that has been around a long time for opting out of having your info traded by junk mailers... it's not perfect, but if you are getting a lot of it, signing their Mail Preference Service will help. Note that it is still free *if* you register by mail.

On another aspect of the problem, a Japanese firm is selling a product called EcoMelt, which is usable for businesses or homes to dissolve styrofoam and styrene products chemically and reduce them to a gel which can be easily stored and takes up far less space than the foam or packaging product. The gel then can be used to reclaim the styrene to make more styrofoam or plastics, or apparently it can even be used as a clean fuel. The company that sells the solvent buys back the gel. Given the Japanese problems with available space (and fuel costs), this could be a very promising technology for them.

So there are answers to the problem. Whether the answers are economical now or will be economical later remains to be seen. (Wouldn't it be something if one day they started "mining" landfills to get styrofoam and aluminum and waste steel?)

If you find yourself with a lot of non-recyclable 'garbbage' it's often a sign you are eating things that are *not healthful.* These days, most *aware* non-vegetarians now realize the hazzards of corporate-produced meat ~ & the presence of heavy metals, like mercury, in seafood. So either raise some rabbits (easily done, even in the city!), or chickens for meat--or stop buying meat on styrofoam trays!

Change your grocery shopping habits: take shopping bags along--filled with your own reusable plastic bags, etc. Buy in bulk when possible ~ cheaper &, if you buy organic, much healthier & more *delicious.

Re-think products you buy & use in your homes: Years ago I learned that baking soda & vinegar were safe & inexpensive replacements for nearly all household cleaning products! Chemical cleaners are seldom needed & harmful to you & your environment. Baking soda will scrub a tub or sink, remove odors from the refrig, & makes an excellent substitute for toothpaste ~ & now we've learned that fluoride in toothpaste is carcinogenic, it's best avoided ~ & one more item stays out of a land fill. Nothing cleans & shines windows & glass better than vinegar & water; use wadded newspaper to shine the glass! It can't be beat. Once you begin shopping regularly at bulk/health food stores, you'll learn to take along your own jars & containers: for bulk honey, peanut butter, cooking oil, soy sauce, even shampoo & lotions, etc.

Take stock of your recyclables--& one by one--try to replace items by 'bulk buy' or making at home. Years ago I noticed yogurt tubs comprised the bulk of my plastic recyclables. I've since made yogurt at home with organic milk ~ a process that takes only *minutes & requires nothing more than clean jars, a floating thermometer, & a small picnic cooler. Voila!

Now, must head out to replant the strawberry bed!
Just my 2 cents, LOL--
Cheers!

My fanily spends a lot of time outside our home, active on environmental committees and other local efforts,and between my husband and my involvements, we might have two nights a week home together and we have two small kids. It makes it hard to live a simple life. Sometimes, paradoxically, when we spend a lot of time working with others to forward sustainability in our communities, it is mor edifficult to practice it at home. I don't have time to bake bread!

This is just a thought, though -- I haven't actually done any research or anything. What do you folks think?

Couldn't help but notice that many places had water rationing last summer - New Jersey for one, and some communities here in the western WA rainforest even. As our population grows, water will be more and more in short supply - it's a fixed supply after all, and being reduced by pollution and improper use.

They also tend to have very fast spin cycles, which get your clothes very close to dry by the time you take them out. If you use a dryer, you won't have to use it as long. No more 45-minute washes piling up waiting two hours for a load of towels to dry. The dryer takes as long as a load of laundry does to wash. If you hang your laundry, it's still good because your clothes are lighter to carry outside, and they don't take as long to dry.

The only downside is, front loaders are gentle to your clothes. This is also an upside--your clothes last longer! But if you have a new pair of jeans or a new T-shirt that's still fuzzy, it takes like a dozen washes to break them in as opposed to three or four with a top-loading washer. I only know this because I have lots of cats--any new clothing is a cat hair magnet and can't be worn in public until the fuzz is gone!

I really can't say enough about having animals, like chickens, around to eat the waste that would ordinarily be thrown away.

Our family tradition is to wrap birthday presents (for family) in old comics pages or washed, inside out potato chip bags.

Did I mention before that I tear up cardboard from packaging and compost it? That REALLY cuts down on the garbage we have to haul.