Give them back to the post office, in an envelope marked Post Office. They take them, so it must work!

Throw out the dirty ones. Force yourself. You can get a giant bag of rubber bands for just a few bucks. I keep maybe 30 to 50 bands at a time, I hang them on an unused doorknob in my kitchen. (My house has three doors, we "use' two so the extra door in the kitchen is mainly ignored.

Our mail is never ever delivered that way and many days we get a lot of it.

Sue

Keep them in a zip bag when it is full enough, put them out where you pick up your mail and the PO carrier should take them. Maybe attach a note, letting them you know you are recyling them;)

If you save them, before donating, give them a quick rinse with either soap or cleaner, then donate to a school.

I give them back to my mailman, too. Also the plastic sleeve our newspaper comes in when it rains I give back to the newspaper guy. They are glad to get them back.

Never thought of leaving a bag for the mailman. That's the best solution, since I won't be tossing them (does rubber disintegrate?) or having to keep them. I guess having one small baggie full won't be in the way.

I have a doorknob full right now. Funny how we all keep them on doorknobs or drawer pulls.

We don't them so much any more but used to - I'd put them in a zip lock baggy and return them to the PO when full.

When you get your mail, just take off the rubber bands and leave them in the mail box to be picked up the next day.

I never get anything with a rubber band on it from the post office. You might want to check with the "letter carrier" (remember, don't say "mailman" or you'll put a burr up in someone's bloomers! LOL) since you technically can't put anything in the mailbox without proper postage on it.

I personally can't do any favors for the post office. My regular carrier will never bring a certified letter to the door. Always tosses a note in the mailbox. I was waiting for a letter before heading out of town the one day and the clown did it again. I chased him down, pulled in front and blocked him. I got my letter. And lately s/he is too lazy to close the mailbox door. How bad is that? And then they have the audacity to put a note in my mailbox to shovel my driveway! Like they'd ever use it anyway. Just a few examples. I fully understand why my dad hated the post office so much!

I'd also bet they'd just toss them. I'd vote for a rinse and give them to the school. They can and will use them I'm pretty sure.

The bag return is a good idea but there too, check with the carrier. Years ago I delivered a paper and the bags were provided but I understand after I finished doing it that some companies charged the carriers for bags which I think is outrageous. Why not charge the pizza delivery folk for pizza boxes and fast food workers for drink cups. Unbelievable. And believe me, what the paper delivery folks go through for the little money they usually make is not to be believed either. There's always one or two who have to have it folded a certain way, placed just perfectly in the perfect location and it better be there when they go out to look for it or they're calling and complaining.

I had never considered that ruber bands'd get to disappointed with life that one could consider them to be PO'd!

One learns something new, every day!

o j

I wait until I have 30 or so and then give them back to my letter carrier and he always says thanks.

I only get the paper on the weekends and I put the plastic bag in with the bags to recycle at the grocery store. Remember when the newspaper was folded in a certain way to keep it from unfolding, then tossed on your doorstep? Mine is always in a bag, which is better in many ways other than what plastic does to the environment, and left at the end of the walk.

My "letter carrier" is very nice and even made a special stop to bring my newspaper to the door recently, after it sat out all night. I hurt my back and couldn't bend over to pick it up!

Ha ha, oj. PO'd.

Our mail is never rubber banded, but the newspaper is. The carrier told my former neighbor he has to buy them, she saves and gives them back to him.

I've got kind of a problem with them, trying to reuse them, they are dirty (black newsprint), DH never puts them in the same place twice and I find them all over, usually end up carrying them around in the pocket of my robe until I toss them.

The carrier at our new house rubber bands them too, and he puts our paper in our mail slot, it's not even in a box outside but falls through the wall into a built in receptacle inside my garage. Wish I had a good answer for what to do with them, but I throw them away and tip him every month.

It's rare that my mail has been rubber-banded, but on the occasions it is - I have zero qualms about throwing out those dirty rubber bands!

I recycle everything that I can, and DH and I used to run a small neighborhood recycling service in our 200 home area, until a commercial service came in. And we were happy they did, LOL. Picking up 2000+ lbs of stinky recyclables every week is not a pleasurable experience. We did it because there was NO commercial service available at the time, and we hated the waste.

But a couple of dirty rubber bands a week? Nope, I'm not going to save them. I don't want them, I won't use them, I'm certainly not going to wash them, and returning them dirty is just gross.

Garbage, done and gone.

Throw them away. I agree with Mary C. I recycle what I can but I waste no time worrying about every single little item that comes through my home. It is too much trouble to keep up with every little speck of trash.

Collect 'em.

Put a bunch of 'em into an old pair o' pantyhose.

Wash 'em with the work clothes.

Use 'em for whatever purpose suits your fancy ... including sendin' 'em back to the originating agency ... even if they are Pd O.

ole joyful

Well, it is about 12 rubber bands a week. Two a day. I have a hard time tossing something that is still useful. I'm strange that way.

'Wash 'em with the work clothes. "

Well, there's a simple solution. So simple it never even occurred to me - Wash Them :)

Thank you.

Hi Mor8z,

How long have you been operational, did you say?

Oh, well ... it's a poor day that one doesn't learn sumthin'!

Our post office has been so badly mauled by emails ... that they're closing some offices, and laying off staff.

So saving them a few cents here and there can't hurt.

o j

If you are a rubber band saver, do not mix old bands with new ones. Here's why. Rubber bands age with time largely by oxidation and reaction with air borne polutants. Rubber bands will fail after a few years unless made from oixdation resistant material, and most are not. If you mix all the saved bands in a single bag, you'll have a mix of recent to old bands with no way of telling them apart. Its a good idea to discard the older bands.

One way to do this is to mark a plastic bag with the year, for this year, mark it 2013. Next year, start a new bag. Discard bags when they become 4 or 5 yrs old. You'll then have a supply of useable bands and will not be ebcumbered with old, unrelaible bands, and will have a method of clearing the trash.

I know what you mean, about being hesitant to throw away something useful. My daily newspaper gets a sturdy one wrapped around it, and I keep them.

With my question about uses for the cereal liner (I hate throwing them out too), I decided to put my kitty litter in the cereal liner roll and secure with a rubber band to toss in the garbage. I'm not just throwing away the bands that way.