Is Recycling the BEST Option?

[OldGuy43]

You seem to have missed the point Douglas. It's not that we shouldn't recycle. We should, but that is the last resort. Re-purposing and reusing is by far the better option from an environmental standpoint. Examples:

1. In the late 60's, for a very short period of time I worked as an electrician in a recycling aluminum mill. Few realize just how much natural gas and electricity is consumed to convert those "throwaway" cans into useful products, and let's not forget the toxic fumes and heat that are generated in the process. Weren't refillable glass bottles much better for the environment? The same is probably true of recycling plastic.
2. Broke the handle on a garden tool? Discard it and buy a new one? Of course not! Purchase a new handle. Presto!
3. Purchase storage jars? Why not buy pickles in gallon jars, wash them out and re-purpose them? I do.
4. Lawn mower quit working? Discard it and buy a new one? Don't be ridiculous! Have the old one repaired.
5. A new egg carton for every dozen you sell? Wouldn't it be better to give your customers a discount equivalent to the price of a new carton for every one they return to you in reusable condition?
6. Ever heard of "Jug Beer"? It was so called because you took your own gallon jug to the local bar, and the barman would refill it with draft beer. No container to dispose of.

The list is endless. We have went from a "convenience" society to a "recycle" society. We have the "Al Gore's" of the world who believe that by purchasing "Carbon Credits" they are doing their bit. Pollution is a global issue. That's just shuffling the problem around.

The solution starts every time we go shopping. We should be thinking, "What can I do with this container when it's empty? Is this a product that can be repaired? Do I really need the "latest and greatest" or will my old one continue to give me good service for a few more years?"

We should be insisting that manufacturers go back to containers that can be washed and refilled. (The soft drink industry comes immediately to mind for this one.) We should be insisting the government lift their ridiculous restrictions on some containers not being returnable/refillable. (Alcohol being a prime example.) We need to quit clear cutting hardwood forests and replanting with quick growing pine that than needs to be chemically "Treated" to make it last.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, the average home size in the United States was 2,700 square feet in 2009, up from 1,400 square feet in 1970, while the average size of a family, according the the US Census Bureau has been declining. Why?

Get the idea?

 

[GrapeChickens]

I used to save & donate my feedbags to a local woman who recycled them into reuseable shopping bags. She has moved. Anybody out there want them? I have about 6 now, and empty 1-2 more per month. I'm in St Petersburg. FL. I regularly travel throughout Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Manatee County for work, so I can deliver them almost anywhere locally.

Email [email protected] or call 727-224-5418 if interested.

 

[duckinnut]

Sort of like this, Mike.

The grill now a flower planter was bought a Walmart for $99 about 15 years ago. It was my road grill that traveled to many a concert and other functions. It spent a many a mile in the back of my truck and many a burger on top of the grates. Also used it in my driveway when I was working outside and didn't feel like going inside for lunch and got a fair amount winter use too. Didn't have the heart to toss it after it was no longer functional and parts weren't available for it. So re-use was warranted for the grill that owed me nothing. I had a woman stop by to buy some eggs who happened to be an art professor at a college in Indiana and she said it was very creative. I said said I wasn't going for creative I was going for functional.

The next picture is mostly self explanatory. Re-used pallets to make a wood crib and the white top is a top to a function tent that was going to be thrown away. Completely waterproof,extremely durable although very heavy and free.And would outlast those cheap poly tarps that leak after a year and get brittle from being in the sun. And re-used, have two of them but would have taken 10 of them. Like I said before both sets of grandparents were around during the depression, nothing was wasted and everything was used for something else when it was not longer able to function as it was intended.

 

[oldrooster]

I hope we can revive this thread.....