Discussing ways to reduce waste and build community!
Celebrate thrift as a virtue, talk about creative ways to make do, or show off how you reused something!
Petitioning for local govs to open up junk yards
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21474632
All my local junkyards accept e-waste but they bounce anyone who shows up with a screwdriver. Once a machine is dumped, it becomes the property of the junkyard who sees repairers who remove stuff as a threat to their bottom line, which comes from the melt value of the metals. I cannot even pay for the parts even if I wanted. I have been kicked out of junkyards enough times that the whole staff recognises me now. It’s really fucked up that the shitty melt value of the metals is prioritised above consumers will to repair.
The disposal chain goes like this:
- consumer dumps appliance waste (sometimes straight to the dump, sometimes to an org in step 2)
- some org that decides if the thing is broken or not
- if it works → goes to a charity to resell
- if reparable → goes to a charity to fix and resell
- if “non-repairable” → broken down for proper disposal
That last step uses scare quotes because they are p
Should local govs establish a centralized DB to track discarded appliances and notify repairers?
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21474636
If I have a Whirlpool machine model XYZ, broken or not I should be able to add a record to a DB that says notify me if a machine of that model is disposed of so I can pick it up for parts or come and just remove a part that I need.
Yes, this means staff in the e-waste disposal services would need to look up the model of every item disposed to see if a repairer wants to be contacted. Is that too much to ask?
wisdom of button batteries -- anyone think they are a good idea?
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21299422
My kitchen scale is powered by a cr2032 lithium button battery. Yes, it was sloppy of me to buy the scale without seeing how it was powered. I only use the scale once or twice per month, yet these shitty button batteries only last a few months. It seems like I only get about ~6—12 measurements before the battery is dead.
WTF? This seems to defy physics. The scale automatically powers off. Of course it must always have some power because there is no ON switch. The scale detects capacitive touch taps or weight before turning on the display.
Digital calipers use a button battery which also only gives a dozen or so measurements before the battery is dead. It seems the calipers power on when the case is snapped shut. Maybe the rattling causes it to power on since it’s very touchy. Turns on with the slightest movement.
My bicycle helmet takes a cr2032, which only lasts a few months. Perhaps because it’s hard to remember
What should I store in a 1 Gallon (3.7 liter) Pickle Jar?
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21002819
Two weeks ago I bought a gallon of pickles, because I thought: Oh, that'll last me a while and its only $7 and I can use the jar for something after. It did not last me a while, but I can still use the jar IG. The only remaining decision is what for? My thought is to store beans in it (so that the beans don't have to be stored up high to be away from mice and so I can do a custom blend more easily, and then if I got a second gallon jar (of pickles or otherwise) I could use that as a dedicated bean soaking vessel, which would make it easier to remember to get beans soaking) or use it for making/storing lemonade (tight sealing lid makes the mixing easier, I can just shake it.) But I wasn't just going to commit to something without asking for recommendations.
Before you ask, no, there's no chance I'll use it for making pickles, I would never want to make that many at a time (though I definitely will get a smaller pickle jar for
Looking for an online market place for used clothing (US)
I am in the market for a denim jacket or vest. I checked the three thrift stores in town. Only one even had a men's section. Nothing on ebay was used. Found a couple i liked on depop, Butt wanted to see what other market places exist.
In a northern Tunisian olive grove, Yassine Khelifi's small workshop hums as a large machine turns olive waste into a valuable energy source in a country heavily reliant on imported fuel.
In a northern Tunisian olive grove, Yassine Khelifi's small workshop hums as a large machine turns olive waste into a valuable energy source in a country heavily reliant on imported fuel.
Introducing Japan’s First Zero-Waste Town
The tiny municipality of Kamikatsu achieved an 81% recycling rate in 2016. Can it serve as a model of sustainable living for the world?
The tiny municipality of Kamikatsu achieved an 81% recycling rate in 2016. Can it serve as a model of sustainable living for the world?
is there any good way to put an extremely-flaking pleather jacket back into service?
I've got a coat I wore every winter for like eight years but didn't use this fall because a rain of macroplastics would follow me wherever I go. I can strip the pleather, flaking-paint material off to replace it with something but the fabric underneath is sort of thin and stretchy so I'd need to find something that'll help seal it against wind and rain again. I know they sell pleather paint but reviews said it's short lived or meant for patching lesser damage. It's probably a long shot but is there another option for doing the whole outside of the coat?
Otherwise it's still in great shape.
Shoutout to the Beyond Plastics team!
Green groups say it’s a “clear admission” that the plastic ones aren’t recyclable.
Mentioned in the article is a stunt by Beyond Plastics whereby they put GPS trackers in plastic Starbucks cups to see how many actually went to recycling centers. 32 out of 36 went straight to landfill.
I want to hear about similar stunts that ordinary people can perform to highlight issues! If you have any please share them below!
Compostable dishes vs washing dishes
Many cafés and fast food places these days provide disposable dishes and cutlery when you're eating in. This used to infuriate me, but it seems to be improving slightly now as the trend has moved towards using compostable dishes instead of plastic ones.
However, it's still waste. It makes me wonder, what is more costly in the long run? Providing customers with compostable items or running hot dishwashers and using soap and water all day to reuse dishes?
Waste shouldn't enter our homes in the first place
The fact that it's the consumer's responsibility to sort their waste and to try and minimise its impact on the environment in the first place is completely wrong to me.
Most people in urban areas rely on stores for basic survival, and the vast majority of products we buy there come with unnecessary waste. It doesn't make any sense to then tell these people "by the way, you'd better clean up that mess when you're done because it's bad for the environment". If governments were truly concerned or willing to act, this waste wouldn't make it into our homes in the first place.
If a company wants to sell a product, they should be held accountable for the waste that comes along with it. They should have to prove that they can reuse the waste and be incentivised to reduce it. If they can't, they can't operate.
Ecocide laws need to become commonplace, and the consumer should not be responsible for their waste if they haven't got legitimate alternative options. I understand this community is
Zerowaste Approach to Common 'Disposables'
'Disposables' isn't a perfect term, but essentially I refer to things such as underwear, toilet paper, tissues, and other such things that tend to have a lifespan of either one use, or one person.
I am fortunate enough to have been insulated by the possession of many things from youth, but as the years go by things begin wearing out or needing replacement, and eventually that safety net will fade, so I would like to ask from the zerowaste community, what is your approach to common things that are typically used to short lifecycles?
Save your Styrofoam to make napalm. And no, napalm isn't what you think.
First off, homemade napalm is in no way illegal, nor does it explode. You've watched too many Vietnam movies. What it does do is burn. Forever. More on campfires to come.
Put a couple of fingers of unleaded in a pickle (wide mouthed) jar, stuff waste Styrofoam in it. You can jam the contents of a 40" TV packaging in a quart jar.
That's it, that easy. Keep cramming the foam in until you get a taffy consistency. Too much and it's too hard to dig out with a stick. Too little and it slips off your stick.
I keep a jar at my campsite and one in the house for starting our little fire pit. A golf ball chunk will start soaking wet kindling.
PRO TIP: Spread the goo on a cookie pan, 1.4" thick, let it dry in the summer sun, cut into little pieces with scissors, put it in a little plastic box (that you had saved already, right?). Now you can pack it out with no mess, no smell!
Never goes bad, as far as I know, can't be too dry.
I managed to rescue those pretty much dead orchids
Here's my original post on Feddit.org, a german instance: https://photon.slrpnk.net/post/17757233
I still made quite some effort to translate it manually for you.
I bought two phalaenopsis orchids about two months ago.
A pink, and a gold one.
First the pink one. I got it from a discounter, and... well it already looked like shit when I bought it. The roots were pretty much all dead.
Now, it recovered, and even put out its' first flower spike!
