sqonk, it's silly to think that the earth has unlimited resources, or unlimited landfill sites. that is the reason why recycling systems are put in place, if there were unlimited resources and landfill areas, then no one would care. recycling and composting take a minimal effort to do, but they do help with these issues. If you think people who recycle and compost are intolerant and self righteous, youve totally got it wrong, they are just people who acknowledge the issues and try to do their bit to reduce their impact. they are trying to be part of the solution, and yes, anyone who doesnt bother to reduce their impact is part of the problem, and if you or anyone else feels touchy about that, then get over it, it's the reality. there is no logic in anyone stroking your hand and saying "there, there, it's ok to be wasteful, we understand" because that may make YOU feel better but it does nothing to address the larger problems going on.

look outside your bruised ego and see what is really going on, not only in the US but around the world, these things are widespread problems, not isolated to a particular city or town somewhere.

pls8xx, Not arguing, just asking for an education - how does the carbon from my compost wind up back in the atmosphere, other than when I metabolize the fruits and expel them?

As I understand: Plant matter sent to landfills decomposes anerobically, producing methane and CO2 in large quantities which escape through venting pipes sunk into the fill site. Composting aerobically produces very little of those gasses, and the bulk of the carbon is sequestered in the soil, where it stays except for microbial metabolism of the soil and animal metabolism of the plant matter it produces - both in small amounts.

Where did I get this wrong?

sqonk, I can not identify with plx88's post because we are already having problems with shortage of landfill sites around my city, they just fill up too fast. of course we could just decimate entire areas by cutting down the trees that we have just so we could bury our waste and not worry about recycling, but seriously, since trees sustain us with oxygen, is that the best option? to what end? just so we can be lazy and not recycle? not a terribly practical option IMO.

I don't have time not to compost. I work 50+ hours a week and I have responsibilities to my disabled husband, my family and volunteer time at the nature center, which is less and less these days. I can barely find enough time to go to the grocery store, mow the yard, do the laundry and cook supper.

Weeding is a luxury, relaxing time for me, if I can find it. Let alone trying to find time to fit some fishing in somewhere. I gave up trying to clean my house, and I now pay someone else to do it.

The more stuff that I toss in my compost bin, which is adjacent to my back door, the less time I have to spend futzing with garbage cans on garbage day.

The most amount time I spend on my compost is once a year (maybe twice a year), I dig the good stuff out from the bottom... and its getting harder and harder to find time to even use the stuff, let alone go somewhere to buy it...

Composting saves me money AND time.

(We have to pay per each for each can of garbage that is pickup at the curb.)

"I don't have time not to compost."

exactly.

& it has nothing to do with elitism or attitude...
or with insisting on being outraged & offended at other people's activities or attitudes.

In fact, the only "attitude" I find on this thread is the outrage & scathing criticism squonnk keeps dishing out.

I'm surprised that someone who's so offended & outraged would keep reading, much less posting & stirring things up.

squonnk first i'm terrible with words on and off pc!! imo, i don't mean that's ok , as in i'm the queen, LOL LORD knows, i'm not anything at this!! LOL hmmmm, i'm just sayin its ok as in the wording, like lazy is offensive to me, stupid is offensive to me, stoopid (stupid spelled wrong) is offensive, things like that, i'm by NO means a mean or high and righteous person!! i can tell ya that, anyone can!! i'm very sorry you took it that way!
i do not understand the whole carbon thing and how or if we can make up for what we use? but i would sure like to!!

Speaking solely for myself, fatbaldguy, if you (or anyone) read my particular comments as evidencing some sort of offense, please understand there is none. I think, though, that it's not a bad thing to air views and have discussions. Ideally, I suppose, each person listening/reading would gain some insight into others (not necessarily that the others' views/experiences are equally valid - not *everything* is equal, certainly!), but even if not, what's wrong with sharing views? And what's wrong with strong ones, or strong questions? Nothing, in my view. It's easy to get locked inside your own (even ignorant, or even self-satisfied) view, and personally, I've never taken offense at a fair and considered discussion on pretty much any topic. I would hope that most have some level of tolerance as well and that value judgments don't polarize people so much they can't even speak or lsiten.

ohhh see ankh that's where i get sometimes, when i get with my stepdad, he's a very, and i mean very strong personality, and when he believes he's right there's nothing changing his mind, no matter how much you will be able to show him how right you aare, ohhhh that man, and he will argue it to the ticking you off right to the brink.

Not everything is a matter of opinion. It IS better to be kind to animals and children and other humans and Mother Earth. It is better to not beat your spouse. It is better to help others less fortunate than yourself. Sometimes there is a definite right and wrong to an issue.

Saying that composting and recycling are part of the solution and the right thing to do is a long way from calling others Earthkillers. It definitely isn't "abject intolerance and unyielding self-righteous refusal to even inquire about, much less attempt to understand, someone else's situation."

I have many friends and acquaintances who don't recycle and/or compost, and there is not a good reason why for any of them. It isn't like they live on the moon or at the North Pole or something. Basically it does all boils down to laziness or orneriness or being ill informed. Secondly, you already said you didn't want to explain, but as someone else say, what explanation will adequately explain, "I prefer to be wasteful of the Earth's resources?"

What is the real issue here, what are you so ticked off about? You are trying hard to convince us that people who don't compost and/or recycle are just making a personal decision no more important than what color to paint their living room. [Buying less new things and reusing things is more important than recycling some things, I am not trying to say that composting and recycling on its own will save the planet. But it will HELP.]

Marcia (known for her tolerance)

ledzeprules,

I know your comment wasn't a response to mine, but I have to say, I love the comment, "what explanation will adequately explain, 'I prefer to be wasteful of the Earth's resources?'." That's just dead-on, and that sort of inverse question-posing is probably good to use in a lot of areas of one's life.

That said, there's an inescapable matter of manageability of a life. I am trying to strike the balance between what I *can* manage in life and *when*, and what admittedly would have been better to start 20 years ago but is still an improvement to start when I know I can manage it and stick to it. Better yesterday than today, but also better today/tomorrow than never, no? And in terms of seeing more people doing a good thing, better to encourage rather than excoriate.... More flies with honey than vinegar, etc. :-)

In answer to queuetue's questions ...

"As I understand: Plant matter sent to landfills decomposes anerobically, producing methane and CO2 in large quantities which escape through venting pipes sunk into the fill site. Composting aerobically produces very little of those gasses, and the bulk of the carbon is sequestered in the soil, where it stays except for microbial metabolism of the soil and animal metabolism of the plant matter it produces - both in small amounts."

Anaerobic decomposition results in the same release of methane and CO2 whether it's a landfill or a compost pile. The landfill here may be a lot different than those found elsewhere. It starts as a deep pit and the cover material contains a kaolin clay. Water exposed to this clay takes up the alum chemicals contained in the clay. The solution is incompatible with any life form. I have seen green pine branches that were dug up after being covered for over 30 years with this material. Even the needles were preserved, though all of the pine looked as if it had been through a charcoal process. In the landfill here, there is some early release of methane, but it's short lived. Hence my statement that most of the hydrocarbon I send to the landfill will still be carbon in the ground, not CO2 in the air.

"pls8xx, Not arguing, just asking for an education - how does the carbon from my compost wind up back in the atmosphere, other than when I metabolize the fruits and expel them?"

All life needs a source of energy. Compost supplies that need for micro organisms. Their metabolism is driven by phases toward oxidation of the hydrocarbons. Successive generations process the compost, ending in a total oxidation to water and CO2. The high metabolic rate in a warm climate 'burns' compost much quicker than in a cold climate, leaving very little residual carbon in the soil. To maintain a given level of OM in the soil in my area requires a total replacement every 18 months.

For our garbage, we have to drive our car to take it to the transfer station, and then trains take it to the incinerator, and then, after all of the carbon has been released to the atmosphere, the remaining fly ash gets trucked to Virginia (lucky Virginia!) for dumping. I, personally, me, Alfie, will stick with composting :-).

Most states have passed laws specifically to keep plant matter out of the landfills. And Landfill space is a problem...if we can keep plant waste seperated, its much easier/safer to reuse. Once it gets mixed with all the other stuff in the landfill, it really can't be reused again... well okay, maybe they can turn it into ethanol...

"Anaerobic decomposition results in the same release of methane and CO2 whether it's a landfill or a compost pile."

which is why it's a good idea to keep your compost aerated.

Squonnk,

When the term 'lazy' is applied as a possible reason that people do not compost it doesn't necessarily mean that one's whole life is spent lounging on the couch , eating bon bons, and scratching whatever itches. I am sure no one meant the term to apply to every aspect of one's life. I am very lazy about alot of things--exercise, for one. And I can't even use the 'too busy' excuse.

The defintion of lazy , ie reluctance to work or exert oneself, was offered as one explanation as to why mountains of compostable materials are being thrown out in the garbage.

Being 'lazy' when dealing with household and yard compostables is simply that for whatever reason one doesn't want to make the 'exertion' required to deal with it with a compost tumbler, pile, or whatever. You read it as a dire insult with implications that the term applies to every aspect of your busy and productive life.

As far as household garbage--I have one of those small tumblers right by the door. Just walk out with the eggshells, banana peels, whatever and in it goes. Sometimes I throw stuff out in the trash bin that could go in the tumbler and that is pure LAZINESS on my part as the trash can is 3 steps away and the tumbler 25 steps outside and I have to take a few seconds to spin it around when I add something.

So back to kitchen garbage--no real work or time required to compost.

So the only other thing the OP poster was lamenting about (and who can blame him when he sees first hand tons of yard and food waste ) would be the yard waste.

You say you mow your lawn--I presume you are just mulching the grass and letting it lay as much more time would be required to bag it and set it out for the trash. So you are composting the clippings right there on your lawn. I do collect grass clippings as I find the lawn does not need the fertilizer and organic matter they provide every time I mow and I want them for my big compost piles.

What else does your yard generate that you don't have time to deal with? Leaves? Do you bag them?--lots of work and there are people who would love to take them so why not ask at work or church if there are any composters.

To me it is easier and less time required to mulch with them in existing beds or dump in a non-turned compost pile if you have the space. Big stuff like limbs and branches are usually trashed and some municipalites do chip and utilize , others do not.

I don't think the OP meant any harm when he asked are people stupid or uninformed when they continue to trash items such as grass clippings, leaves, and kichen garbage when the environmental impact (ie running out of landfill space) have been explained for years and years.

I think many people are just indifferent and/ or unconvinced of the benefits derived when we as a community make a concerted effort to reduce landfill inputs.
They think what harm or impact would my few bags of leaves have. Even though my city offers recyling bins 60% of the people on my street don't use them. I know you don't want to be judgemental so let's chalk it up to the fact they are too busy with work and family life (?).

In your case, you seem to think yes, composting is an option , but it would require an unreasonable amount of your time as you work, have a family and go to church, etc. However, time expenditures can be as little or as much as you want when it comes to composting.

And for that matter, composting is not the only solution to those people hauling out trash cans full of compostables.

You are proud that you recycle. I think it is perfectly OK to make the decision not to have a big compost pile ---99% of the people I know don't have one but why not recycle leaves, grass (if you collect them) to people who would use them and encourage your municipality to chip and compost larger yard debris.

I put all my kitchen scraps in this small tumbler. I very rarely even remove the compost. I do have gigantic compost piles way across the other side of my 2 and 1/2 acre yard (primarily made with 18 yard truckloads of horse manure and bedding dropped off here -- otherwise it would be heading to the landfill). But I am too lazy to walk the kitchen scraps down there and bury them.


{{gwi:294601}}

maybe, just maybe the OP is like me, ohhh boy, i hope i say this right and know i won't, but maybe the op sometimes uses the words wrongly?? or wrong place wrong time? or something like that. or was really upset when sending the post off and then pushed send and boom too late, it was out there, wished they'd used another word. LORD knows i've done that!! LOL **big grinn** the thing about pc's is that you cannot see the other person so you don't know what they are thinking when they are posting what they've posted it. a lady posted something about me, a few people asked "hey medo who's that saying mean things about you???"" so of course i had to check it out, well after many of my friends sticking up for me she finally said she was just making a joke, well you can't see that. that's my point and now i'm done. working in the garden makes me longwinded of nothing!!! LOL

anyhow i like your tumbler!! its really cool!! i know i want one!! its gotta beat the bins!! ** ~Medo

its gotta beat the bins!!

no, not really :)--I like really big compost piles too but for kitchen scraps --it's great. It is pretty small for any really serious composting.

((I do think people who put out leaves and grass clippings are 'stupid' in a sense. Stupid doesn't always mean lack of intelligence --it can mean a lack of care or attention as in a 'stupid mistake'.

People who put out grass and leaves for the trash really aren't paying attention to our bulging landfills. At least put them aside and put a sign saying 'FREE, for composting'. ))
Besides who could take offense at a 'fat and bald guy's' terminology. He's got to have a sense of humor and it is important not to take everything so serious or be easily offended. It really must be awful, day after day, picking up all that stuff, knowing it will all go to waste. In the same vein they send a huge recycling truck into my neighborhood and most people don't put anything out. Think of the gas and manpower poorly utilized.

farkee, you have it just right. I grow so weary of seeing this day after day. Tons, and tons of compostable material going to the landfill on a daily basis.

Let alone the recyclables.

The majority of my customers have the acreage to compost or live so close to a farmer's field to make tossing this stuff in the trash horrific, but this is only my opinion of course.

i know that!! as far as the gas is concerned, the schools here, they are considering going longer to make it where the kids can get out earlier, something like that. of course i homeschool my kids so i don't have to worry about that. the school bus was coming here at 4:30 and i never got to spend quality time with them as it was so i said ahhhh this is enough, and took them out. i don't judge people by their terminology, geeze i have enough bad one that's for sure!! LOL **big grinn** and ohhh my i love his sense of humour!! your so right!! LOL sometimes i do get offended when i read posts and i can just feel the heat off of the words, at least that's the way i read them, but if i put myself in another frame of mind i'm ok with them, not so offended.

Squonk, you have an incredibly huge chip on your shoulder.

I bet it's compostable. :-)

If you feel the need to get into a frenzy about other people being "elitist" and superior sounding, your arguments might go over better if you weren't elitist and superior sounding yourself.

If you don't want to compost, don't compost. But why condemn other people because they do?

I had some other points I wanted to make, but gee, I have a life and I'm busy, too. Right now I'm cutting my excess cardboard into pieces so I can take it out and dump it into my compost pile. It'll make a nice layer between the grass clippings and weeds.

i did notice that one things for sure!! here we all are explaining our stuff to a person who is probably getting a kick out of us making a big deal out of him and his things. LOL that's what we are doing today also, we have been stacking some cardboard up and today is our ripping day. and we are finishing the yard work and dumping the clippings in the compost area, its a new one, that my son made, he is just so great!! i am with the OP, i am astounded but with some of the people who are too uptight about stuff. let it go!! heck if ya wanta buy compost buy it, if ya wanta get rid of your stuff i agree with some people at least put free on it!! LOL

Fat bald guy, you would be happy to know what I did today. Most Sundays and some Saturdays I go to a weekend indoor/outdoor market very near my home. They fill up my truck with the produce they didn't sell that day, including some nice leftovers as well as some smushy/damaged stuff.

I have an email list whereby I notify other interested parties as to what is available. Today's catch was mostly mangoes, potatoes, honeydews, nectarines, hot peppers, asparagus, and cherries. We eat, can, and freeze lots of it, making excellent salsas and jams and so on. What doesn't get eaten or given away is composted in my yard, along with OPBL.

The only unusual thing today is that after the nice man had loaded my truck, he noticed a different produce vendor starting to dump cases of mangos in the dumpster. He explained to her that they give me the old stuff, and I keep it out of the landfill. So then we loaded her 20+ cases of mangoes into my pickup as well.

Marcia

WOW Marcia!! that is way to cool!! you must live in town?? and way nice of the other vendor also!! i bet your compost is nice and well like that black gold as i read about!! LOL :'))

I compost my stuff just because I can. I'm not a fanatic, although a few of my friends might question that :) I offer to take home veggie peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags and such from our food functions. A friend, who cooks way more than I do, gives me her compostables. She doesn't feel like she has the space to do it, which is fine with me. I do it for her and occasionally donate back to her. Most of my neighbors are aware that I compost. They donate grass occasionally to the effort.

I have given up trying to compost tree trimmings. It just takes way too long and too much space. I let those go to the landfill. I also occasionally put noxious weeds in the trash!

I have the big wheeled recycle can. I do (mostly) put my recyclable items in there. It takes me a couple of months to get it anywhere near ready to put out at the curb. My trash can(s) go out probably every other week, every three weeks, depending on how full they are.

I'm not a fanatic, but I know everything I do does help. I'm good with that.

Lisa

that's just awesome Lisa!! fanatic or not you help :'))
i'm trying to teach my kids that helping now is the best thing to do since later (if ya don't mind a little religous here LOL) when the earth is rid of all the very bad people then we are going to be the ones left to clean it up, well that really does make them want to help clean it up some!! LOL i'm one of the mommies who will bend the rules "jsut a little LOL" to get er done!! LOL i love it when they just fall in line. so now when we go on our nature walks and they pick up trash we have a bag for it and things, they know if you pick it up your responsible for it, and my kids are very curious!! so that was a great rule for me to make!! LOL and it makes for great recycling and compost! LOL ~Medo

I compost becuse I want good soil to grow plants in and squonk...if you didn't work 70hr weeks for the man you would probably be a more happy and enjoyable person . but it appears you have a chip on your shoulder.

stemming from what appears to be a much to busy life to stop and smell the roses can only make a person bitter.
I did that for 25 years ,I was very bitter, one day I had enough and walked away. and I am much happier for it life is good with or witout compost

I think a quote from Oprah is appropriate here "When you know better, you do better.".

Every little bit helps. Some progress is better than none at all.

I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. I, personally, have only begun to compost in the past couple years. After some negative experiences with outdoor compost piles I opted for a NatureMill indoor composter to compost my kitchen scraps. I was, of course, attacked for this by some people on the forum, but I think that if it allows me to continue composting and keep compostable items out of the landfill then it's a good thing.

So, my rather discombobulated point is that everyone just needs to do the best they can with what the resources they have and perhaps stretch to be a bit better with each coming year.

When does offering a different opinion become an attack?

Just because someone disagrees doesn't mean they are attacking.

In our town just outside of Toronto, we have blue boxes for cans, cardboard and glasses, green bins for organic matter, and we're limited to 2 bags of garbage per household.

If the garbage man finds anything in our garbage that shouldn't be there, he rips open the bags and tosses the stuff back onto our lawns.

I love my garbage man. He gets a bottle of hooch at Christmas.

WOW could you just imagine that in ks??? that'd be something!! i'd actually love that though!! i mean it seems kinda rough to toss it on your lawn, but hey, if ya can't follow the rules, i kinda don't want to have to wear a mask one day just to walk outside, (thinking sci fi again!! LOL) but, ya know, at least to have some kind of thing like i read on a earlier post, one bin for glass, one for plastics one for aluminum, like in cali, that would be cool if they did that here. i'd go for it!! geez i'd pay the extra. and just compost the rest. uhhh that's what we do now though. and its turning out to be ok, hubs is actually helping now. and that, my friends, is really cool!! he never does that!! he didn't even freak when i had a "compost loaf pan" on the stove, that was cool. do ya'll ever use like buckets for compost that goes out thats food? i know when we were growing up and lived on the farm with grandma, they were not compost buckets, they were slop buckets for the pigs, LOL ~Medo

Oh yeah, the city gave us the green bins for our organic matter along with a little bucket for our counter tops.

Here, it's the law. Mess up, and the garbage man will come and git ya!

I read a post on another forum several months ago:

A woman was in England visiting family, & she commented to a relative that she was gratified to see all the different bins for trash pick-up/recycling, that she was glad that things weren't just being thrown away.

& her relative replied that "there's no longer any such place as 'away'."

our garbage men are wimps. they actually put a sticker on one of our cans that said it was too heavy.

on another note, I'm celebrating the 38 mpg I got today on my 99 honda. hypermiling is da bomb.

blutarski, I will usually toss anything up to about 80-100 lbs. Anything over that, and I'll tag it, and call it in. Try throwing 10-12 tons per day like that, and you'll understand.

Oh, fatbaldguy, quit your whining! Why do you think that us ladies are out there at 7 am running to the curb with that teeny-tiny bag of garbage that we "just forgot" to put out the night before?! (ahem, note the hair and makeup...)

Any guy that can sling 10-12 tons per day is a real man in my book. Not to mention, a dude that will kick some non-composters a$$.

Rant over yet?!

You guys who are not concerned about recycling/composting/garbage accumulation need to go see the new movie WALL-E.

L

holly you aren't the only one who runs to see the garbage person and recycling person (LOL about your above post). My two year old *makes* us stay home on Mondays (we can't go to the zoo today mom, it's trash day) to see the trucks and wave at his heroes. And his favorite books are about recycling and trash personnel.

But my favorite part about composting with kids is that instead of playing "trash can" games or whatever, he has made for his own play kitchen and garden, mini compost bins and countertop receptacles in which he places all of the felt play food in his kitchen *after* he's served it to us and it's been "eaten". That just makes me smile.

Taking notice of these tough economic times I left a twenty spot in an envelope taped to the can the week before Christmas and have done so for many years now.My guy has always been good to me.

When I forget to get the cans out he actually drives by and honks the horn then makes the swing back by to pick them up. Well worth the good thought at Christmas time every year.

Hey FBG Love your tag and do you have anyone on your route like this ???

Ruvin, I'm good to my people and they're good to me. I've been known to walk up to the house and get the can/toter if the folks inside have been civil and polite. Especially if they're elderly, injured, or handicapped.

I was gifted of food, drink, and cash this past holiday season.

My mom lived in Ft. Collins CO a number of years ag when an ordinance was passed banning composting in open bins. I guess they were trying to deal with raccoons or dogs maybe. If you wanted to compost, you could buy a city approved bin from the city that was plastic, fully enclosed and rather small, pitiful. The bins would have been - a - brimmin with less than 2 cubic ft of material. As I recall they weren't cheap and there were no provisions for people who couldn't afford them.

squonnk -- I agree that this forum is often over heavy with intolerant comments when there is a diference of opinon about what to do or how to do it. I am actually surprised that a few people mentioned using compost tumblers in this thread without being attacked for having more money than brains, or being lazy, or being stupid (stoopid?). Search the forum for tumblers if you think I'm wrong! It is an attitude which, thankfully, I have not found in any other forum on this site. That said, I do come back occasionally to pick up some good tips.

Oh, medontdo -- Here's a tip for home schooling your children, Hire a tutor for their English lessons. Few things are less convincing than a poorly written argument!

Last year I caught a bit of an interview with Freegans - people that live from dumpsters. Two doctors (MD, not PhD) go dumpster diving several times a week. It was incredible to watch them pull out enough food to make dinner. "Thats nice," I thought, "But not for me." Well, now that Im serious about expanding the garden, I needed more compost materials and asked my florist if she would save her scraps if I provided heavy duty bags. She obliged but as the weeks go by, she complains about being too busy to separate it (even though I told her she didnt have to.) Every week, she gives me fewere and ferw bags, so I started going through her dumpster. I cant believe the stuff she tosses. I make little bouquets for around the house. She tossed out four unused 75-foot white pine ropes. I made wreathes out of them and the spruce from Christmas trees on the curb.

Ive started rummaging through the dumpster at Starbucks where Ive pulled many milk cartons that now have winter sown seeds in them. My husband is concerned about my safety so I usually go around 6am when there are other people around, though I noticed that dumpster diving is best at night, after the businesses close but before the garbage trucks arrive.

When I was a kid, I was embarrassed by my Dad who was a garbage picker. Though, he sometimes came home with nice stuff that only needed a small bit of refurbishing - bicycles, a very nice lawn swing. Now hes my compost buddy. "Dad, if you see a Christmas tree on the curb, GRAB IT!" Hes brought home countless bags of leaves that will be great mulch this summer.

I guess Ive reached an age that I just dont care what people think of me going through the trash. Its a fun adventure too though I have a feeling it will be too funky for me to tolerate come warm weather.

We recycle, reuse and compost as much as we can. My beef is the packaging that comes with "things"! Surely, toilet paper doesn't need to have each roll wrapped in plastic, then the whole package wrapped in plastic again! I think twice about buying anything because we are at a point in our lives where we would be replacing something, and it is not easy to find a responsible home for the old thing. The other beef is that our muni picks up some stuff, but there is not ONE place where you can take everything and the pollution/cost of transport negates the benefits. It is perhaps easy for us (we are almost retired) but busy families and business owners are asked to spend way too much time on recycling.

When the temperature reached 8 below zero, and the snow was two feet deep I decided that composting had its limits. In a matter of a week our "garbage" doubled. This evening I prepared beets, and there was a huge bunch of beet greens. I could not stand the thought of throwing them in the trash. So, into the composting bucket they went. My husband said "Are you really going outside to put these in the snow?: Putting them down at the back door, he said "here you are."
The man goes out three times a day for firewood. I'm not going to complain about going the compost pile twice a week.

Speaking of dumpster diving: when I was a kid, my buddies and I would go diving for treasures occasionally. By far, the most exciting and lucrative trips were at the CSU dorm dumpsters just at the end of the school year. Those kids must have just pitched everything in their rooms, albums stereos, clothes, furniture, bicycles, girlie magazines and all. What we seldom found was contemporary garbage. Something tells me that even in this elightened age, the practice continues. To those who care, sorry about the imperfect sentence structure, punctuation and/or speling.

Just an aside ... Several years ago I had an opportunity to spend time with a relative in Plymouth, Mich. I wanted to help with some household chores and volunteered to sort the garbage every week. It wasn't all that bad; I kind of looked forward to going out to the garage and getting away from the noise and all. Being by myself was refreshing. While at the task of separating the glass, plastic, and cans, and putting a sticker on every container, and making sure that I kept track of the yard waste containers so I wouldn't run short, my mind wandered. I was trying to imagine how this garbage task could be handled if I were the sole caretaker of this household with six little tykes all running in different directions. The mind wanders when involved with a boring activity ... just an aside

When my mother in law moved in with us, she had to recycle. She never never got annoyed about anything else, but rinsing cans and plastic was hard for her to adjust to at 88. I always had to get her paper out of her wastebasket. It is not nothing to find storage for three, or even two, containers of recyclables. Nor is it no effort to haul additional containers out on garbage day. It can be done, certainly, but especially in urban areas there has to be lead time for education and for the population to adjust. It seems to me that in a big urban area, just getting started on restaurant/food service waste would have a substantial impact.

Does anyone live in Chicago? My daughter says the recycling program is the pits and pitiful. She carts her recyclable off the premises. If she didn't have a car, how would she manage it?

I caught a bit on the radio a month or so ago re dumpster-diving Freegons - this one about folks who would dumpster dive and then take the proceeds to homeless shelters and such.

What's stuck in my mind was the comment that high-rise, expensive apartment / condo buildings was the place to go for clothes - they'd find brand new, label still on, expensive clothes hidden in garbage bags within other garbage bags. The folks were ashamed to throw it away.