Dumpster diving, what to do with stale bread, how to not pay for trash pickup

[fireincarnation]

I'm pretty new to dumpster diving, and I'd been really busy, and not had the chance to go out since it was nice and sunny out. That is, until yesterday. (I would like to point out that trash placed in public dumpsters or on the curb for pickup is public property. It actually went to the supreme court, because police wanted to know when the could

Comments

[center]

"which was easily dropped off at a gas station, or combined with my neighbor's trash."

This is stealing services. As you said, people pay for trash collection. If you are taking your household trash and placing it in the gas station's dumpster, no matter how small -- if not an illegal act, it is at very least unethical.

The same of course goes for your neighbor -- especially if your area pays for trash collected via volume, bag #s or weight and you are doing it without your neighbor's permission.

"I've never paid for garbage services."

You pay taxes, don't you?

[fireincarnation]

1. When I say "combined with my neighbor's trash," this has always been done with the consent of the neighbor, and never sufficient enough to cause a hike in their garbage pickup fee. One small grocery trash bag every 1-3 months is not sufficient to hike up someone's collection bill. When I was living in Cali, they charged by the size of the container for trash. Out here in PA, whatever you put on the curb is charged a flat fee. If you REALLY want to pay for this "service," collect up all your trash for five years until you have a pickup-load full and haul it to the dump. Or do it like half the population of Pennsylvania does, and burn it in your heater to heat your house.

3. I mentioned my income is $200 a month. At that rate, I do not have to pay taxes.

Please don't be so quick to jump down someone's throat when you don't have the full information. If you think I'm doing something illegal or unfair, it doesn't take any extra time to be courteous and ask for clarification.

[center]

I'm not jumping down your throat. I'm pointing out errors in your sweeping overgeneralized statements.

You're doing it again, too.

[fireincarnation]

What exactly am I doing again?

[center]

Also:

"For instance, many grocery stores have bins where you can recycle used grocery bags. What a lot of people don't know is you can recycle anything that's soft plastic there as well, as long as it doesn't have any foil on it (like some chip containers do.)"

Not neccessarily.. at very least "anything" is too strong of a word. This I believe was recently discussed in one of the communities I'm in, possibly this one?

http://www.plasticbagrecycling.org/

There are so many different types of plastic. If your local bag dropoff is actually going to recycling, you may be adding things that are not the right type of plastic, are dirty, (or may even be cellulosic or other materials) into the stream.

[fireincarnation]

Thanks for the clarification. To ensure that your recycler can get the most out of your plastic donation, you should rinse it out if it looks dirty or covered in residue. This goes for grocery bags or other plastics. If it's cellulosic or made from other materials, it wouldn't be made from plastic.

[nymphatacita]

Also, our grocery store doesn't actually recycle the bags, and I'm sure they're not the only one. They give them to the food bank. So putting "anything that's soft plastic" in the bin only creates problems and extra work for the food bank, which (here, and everywhere I've lived) is full of overworked and underappreciated volunteers already.

[audesapere]

This is among the most useful posts I have EVER read here. Thanks so much. I'm memorying it.

[fireincarnation]

You're welcome! I hope it helps you.

[chaeri]

Milk should be good for 14 days after the sell-by date, eggs are often good for months past the time they "expire," and canned food is good almost indefinately, as long as it isn't dented or opened.

just one word about the cans - they aren't good if the tops are anything but flat. if they are bowed in any direction, they are poison. but that takes a while. the best test to determine the expiration of eggs and milk is your nose. if it smells funky, its bad! though, slightly bad milk can be used in pancakes.

For instance, many grocery stores have bins where you can recycle used grocery bags

i take them to school as lunch bags, and recycle at school.

[fireincarnation]

Thanks for the reminder about cans that bow at the top. Those are bad reguardless of the expiration date, it means that bacteria or fungi have entered the can.

I almost forgot, to re-use an item BEFORE recycling it is twice as good. Another use for plastic bags is as insulation for drafty spots in your house, they trap air in pockets, and are very, very efficient. Not bad for "trash."

[chaeri]

really? hm. we live in a house-turned-apartment and it doesn't have sealed windows. its not possible to get the energystar ones, and it gets cold as heck. i'll try that! thanks.

oh random thing: my sister in law reused old cotton/denim/fleece shirts in a creative way. she cut them into rectangular pieces, filled them with rice and lavender or rose petals and sewed the seams shut. they can be put in lingerie drawers or heated or cooled for effective cramp and headache help.

[fireincarnation]

If you aren't concerned with being able to see out your windows, your best bet is to cut a piece of plastic a couple of inches larger than the window, cover all but the top 6 inches of the window in solid plastic, fill the gap between the window and the plastic with the bags (try to trap air inside the bags before you place them inside) then finish sealing in the top of the window. When that is done, cover the plastic in some thick, dark fabric. You can even sew scrap pieces together to make your covering. The darker the fabric, and the darker the bags, the more heat they will trap from the sunlight.

Thanks much for the suggestion for rice bags. I certainly need relief from my chronic migraine disease.

If you have enough sewing skills to sew one of those, you can also sew a "snake" to stop drafts from coming in under the door. Make a long roundish tube from fabric and stuff with rice/dry beans and batting. Place in front of doors to stop drafts.

[lockedindream]

Feminine products are not something you have to waste garbage room on. I haven't bought menstrual supplies for years. I use reuseable cloth pads, and I know a lot of people who use reusable rubber menstrual cups such as Diva Cups or Keepers. These things last for years, are cheaper in the long run and are waaaay more environmentally friendly.

[fireincarnation]

Thanks for mentioning that! I'm rather strangely shaped inside and can't use the diva cups or keepers, but I have switched to Insteads, and I rinse & reuse through one whole period, so I'm producing one small piece of garbage instead of lots of waste like tampons and pads. At the time when I was using little trash in California, they hadn't started making the Insteads and I hadn't heard about the other options.

Insteads are also much cheaper than pads or tampons, a box of 20 (lasts a year and a half) costs me less than $6. I've been thinking about using GladRags, but I don't have the money to put out upfront to buy a decent quantity, so I've been using the Insteads.

Oh, and another tip, if you get blood on your clothing, hydrogen peroxide will remove the stain hassle-free. Just keep pouring on, until the stain is gone and the bubbling stops. Then throw in the wash.

[nymphatacita]

for small spots, spit works too. Not that it wouldn't work for larger spots... I just don't have that much spit.

[fireincarnation]

Wow, that's cool. I never knew spit would take out blood stains. I suppose vomitt would too, though it doesn't sound quite as practical.