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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Day 9 1/9/08

Todays Haul:

  • 1 plastic pasta bag - recycling although I will be checking on this for sure
  • 1 catalog addressed to someone who doesn't live here - recycling (too much for the worms)
  • 4 pieces of paper and two receipts - worms
  • 4 toothpicks - worms
  • 1 plastic bag from new door flap - recycling
  • 1 paper insert from door flap instructions - worms
  • 1 hunk of coffee grounds - garden
  • 12 bent nails - garbage pile

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you go into detail about recycling those plastic bags? Here in NYC, the city only accepts bottles and jugs made from #1 and #2 plastic. Some stores accept bags for recycling, and soon lots more stores will do this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/nyregion/10bags.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=plastic+bags&oref=slogin

Is that how you are recycling your bags?

A lot of people have misconceptions about recycling plastic. They don't think to do it, and then when they do, they put EVERYTHING plastic in the recycling: take out containers, yogurt, bags, packaging, etc. I know-- I went through my own learning curve and am still trying to train my roommates. I wish I could recycle more plastic. Maybe I can! Looking forward to seeing what you do.

Good luck with your project! I admire what you are doing.

Juli in NYC

Dave said...

I absolutely plan on going into massive detail in the recycling front. Before I do that though, I'm gathering info and will actually be heading to a recycling facility to talk with the folks there about what they do and bring them different items to see whether or not they can recycle them. As soon as i have that info I'll post it in detail. In the meantime google (your city name here) sanitation and they should have a recycling portion of their cite. This should list what they do and don't recycle. Many plastic containers and bags have a recycle number on them (usually 1-6 I believe) and this tells you what it's made of. I'll try and find a good guide for this and post it soon.

Why not buy your roommates some cloth bags and challenge them to go plasticless?

dave

Anonymous said...

Dave--I'm a little worried about all the paper you feed the worms because isn't paper manufactured with a lot of chemicals? I'm just worried about the worms...

--Kate

Dave said...

Hey Kebbykate, not to worry about the worms, they're pretty hardy. I really don't know about the chemicals they use to make paper, but having said that, my 3 year old tends to chew on her papers alot and other than the third arm she's been growing (kidding) she's fine.

By the way, i think I wrote this somewhere, but when I say the paper is going to the worms, I don't mean that moment, I mean it is being put aside and being given to the worms eventually. the way i figure it, even if at the end of the year I am left with 10 pounds of paper, as long as it eventually gets composted and not put in the trash or recycling, that means I've accounted for it in an ecologically sound way.

The worms are very happy as my kids can attest to.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dave. Before you head the recycling facility, you might want to read my series on info I gleaned from visiting several recycling facilities myself. That way, you can compare what they do in NYC to what they do out here on the East Coast. Also, please be sure and find out where they send everything once it's sorted. Out here, most things go to China.

Here's the link to my recycling posts. It's best to scroll all the way to the bottom and work your way up.

http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/labels/Issues%20-%20Recycling.html

Anonymous said...

Did I just say "out here on the East Coast?" Of course, I'm on the West Coast. Need to get more sleep.

might I add...? said...

Hi Dave,

Can't nails go into the metal recycling? I mean, nails are made of metal, right? So, why not recycle them? I don't see a reason why they should go into the garbage. If you know of one, please post.

Thanks. I'm enjoying reading about your process.

Anonymous said...

"Might I Add," think about the people who are sorting the recycling. Perhaps nails can be recycled somewhere, but most likely they should not be put into a co-mingled curbside bin. In the Bay Area, the recycling is sorted by a combination of machines and people. Anything sharp is very dangerous to the human sorters. Nails can not only stick people, but they can also fly out of the equipment and hit them. Yes, the workers wear protective googles, uniforms, and gloves. But their protective clothing is not a suit of armor, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to move enough to do the job.

Please keep sharp objects out of your recycling bin.

Dave said...

The sharp aspect is a good point (pun intended) but there is also the idea that not all metal can be recycled in the first place and there are all types of nails. I guess my point is that just because it's metal doesn't mean a recycling facility can recycle it. Your best bet is to contact your local waste facility (check out your bills, one will have your sanitation info on it) and ask them if nails can go in. I'll ask them when I head to the recycling center here.