Too Green? Too Cheap? Too Old?

[gtaus]

We do get good service In summer during HOT days, I will offer workers COLD BOTTLED WATER.

I don't live in town, so I am my own garbage/recycle disposal service. We still have to pay for the privilege of having a county landfill/recycling center whether or not we use it. Anyway, between feeding almost all kitchen scraps and waste food to the chickens, shredding almost all our paper products to use as carbon in the chicken coop/run/compost pile, and repurposing plastics for a second life, we have reduced our garbage runs from once a week to once a month, or even less.

It helps that we have some recycling bins that my wife passes by when she goes to work. So every week she will take a bag of metal/glass/plastic/cardboard items to the recycle bin. A couple years ago, they switched over to having mixed recycled item bins, so we no longer have to separate metal from glass from plastic from paper or cardboard. They all go into one bag at home and then into the recycle bins. I think that helps more people because few people wanted to have multiple bags/bins at home taking up room for what they just considered as garbage.

 

[gtaus]

It night have been mentioned, but those barrels might not have been reusable. They might have held soap or other chemicals that leach into the plastic and taint it

Yes, it is important to consider the original purpose of the container. Food grade containers are different than chemical containers.

 

[gtaus]

We wash out our ziplock bags and reuse them until they nearly fall apart. We live in a house that has too much storage and we take full advantage, never throwing anything away. We often find ways to re-purpose our old things.

My grandmother lived through the great depression years and always washed her ziplock bags. When I was young, I never understood why you would want to do that. Plastic baggies are just too cheap. But now I just turned 60 and find myself reusing those plastic bags another time or two myself. Not because I can't afford to buy new, but rather that I choose to reuse/repurpose things as much as I can.

 

[gtaus]

Some of you might be fans of Justin Rhodes on YouTube. He has one saying that I really liked. He said he got it from his father. He calls it his small farm/homestead motto:

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

I am pretty good at the using up things, wearing them out, getting better at making it do (repurposing), but I seldom do without. I have no problem buying new if I have already done the first three things.

 

[cavemanrich]

gtaus
Searched and rescued (found) the thread......

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/homemade-v-s-store-bought.1180448/