You could probably say that this is a companion to yesterday’s podcast. This is also part of my moving fatigue. Because we are renting the new house as well as addressing all of the existing house concerns, we are on a severely restricted budget. One of the consequences of that is my recycling bin, pictured below.

I value the recycling service. I consider it an equal partner to my garbage service. If we didn’t have recycling, all of that stuff would end up in the trash can. They pick up our bin every other week and when they do, it is almost always fuller than our trash can. In fact, there have been times that the recycling bin was full the next day after pick-up and we would have to wait another two weeks.

Fortunately, we live very close to the recycling center which is open 24 hours a day. It was not uncommon for me to make multiple trips to the recycling center per cycle. That means that our bin was too full and we had to wait until it was picked up but in the meantime, I was getting rid of the excess.

I have made it a habit of managing the recycling. This means breaking down everything into it’s smallest and basest form. When I go to the recycling center, I often see the bins full of boxes that just had the contents removed. This is a very inefficient use of space. I say all of this to mean that I am not filling up my bin with two or three items. it is lots and lots of things.

I took a picture of this bin on trash night. This is the amount of recycling that we have generated in two weeks. I know that it is a little out of context but this is a 96 gallon container with about a foot of recyclable items. In fact, I think that this is the very first time in over 20 years that I did not take the bin to the curb. I didn’t see the point.

In full transparency, we are paying for garbage service at the new house. A small percentage of our needs are left there. But again remember, we are only at the new house one or two days a week. Anything that is getting ordered is coming to the current house. We are primarily buying and leaving condiments and such at the new house. To go from needing to take cardboard to the recycling center mid cycle versus opting to not put the recycling out at all is a huge change.

I am taking advantage of the trash service however. I try to make a habit of taking stuff over whenever we go so that we can utilize what we are paying for. At some point the need is going to overtake our capacity but it makes sense right now to utilize what we pay for. Overall, I would say that it has not been a good value to pay for trash service at both houses, they both have recycling as well.

I do make an effort to follow the rules so that I can keep having recycling service. This is not just a granola theology but a practical one as well. That being said, we should all do our part. In years past, I have read stories about people who experimentally reduce waste to a shoebox for a year. Talk about difficult. I don’t think that recycling counts against them either.

As I was boxing up my shop, I ran into several empty tool cases. Because our recycling is limited to #1 and #2 plastics, I think they are probably trash. I am never going to keep tools in them, it is just too impractical. I strongly wish that toolmakers would stop offering cases for tools in the first place. Sure, waste is generated by throwing away unwanted items, but in my experience more waste is generated by purchasing new things.

This is the real reason that our recycling is empty. We have stopped buying new things because we cannot afford them. When I was cleaning up after my last range trip, I really could have used a brush style called a tornado brush. They are much more rigid than a traditional bronze, bore brush. Because I have sworn to only purchase needed and necessary items, I made due.

End Your Programming Routine: It really does bother me how much waste we generate. I feel pretty good when it is cardboard, steel or aluminum as the process to convert is simple and effective. But when it comes to all the plastics, it is tremendously wasteful. Not to mention, if it isn’t a bottle or jar greater than 12oz my service won’t even accept the plastic even if it has the right number on it. Just because something has a recycling emblem doesn’t mean it can go in the bin.