Those things we buy just to throw away

Too big to fit where we keep our primary cans. We do have a park nearby that has far too few trash cans... IDEA...

That could work. I've often thought about putting a trash can on my own corner after I see the empty Gatorade and water bottles that some jerks just throw on the ground. If only I had several hundred trash bags.... :)
 
Since in a representative government with a liberal franchise the same people who make up the market also make up the electorate government regulations in such a society express the will of the market. Maybe not that of the marketeers but that's too bad for them.

Being a life long California resident, I know a little about that. All I will say is our environmental activism is regressive and hurts the average Jose er, Joe worse than the rich. A minimum wage worker would benefit from not paying 50 cents per gallon extra for our summer blend gas. We are of course better than the other 49 so 50 cents it is. Sarcasm mode off.
 
That's nice. As long as everyone is a aware that the manufacture of the Volt (or any new car) puts more pollutants in the environment than driving a 1978 Lincoln Continental for the rest of your life. :) I tell that to all my crunchy friends.

tho I can tell it amuses you to say that, its really a false equivalency.
The comparison is Not "do I choose a new car VS a 40 year old car?"
The Comparison has to be "do I choose a new Lincoln (or Mustang, SUV, Pickup, whatever), or do I choose a new Eco car (Prias, Volt, Tesla, Niro) ?"
because most people wanting a new car aren't really going to settle on a 40 year old hulk ...
 
tho I can tell it amuses you to say that, its really a false equivalency.
The comparison is Not "do I choose a new car VS a 40 year old car?"
The Comparison has to be "do I choose a new Lincoln (or Mustang, SUV, Pickup, whatever), or do I choose a new Eco car (Prias, Volt, Tesla, Niro) ?"
because most people wanting a new car aren't really going to settle on a 40 year old hulk ...

I'm not so sure it is a false equivalency. The 78 Lincoln is just an attention-getting example.The underlying point holds true. If one is set on being environmentally friendly, getting rid of your current vehicle for a new "green" vehicle, simply for the prospect of being green, isn't all that green in the cradle to grave perspective. Sure, it feels good, but...

OTOH, if you are getting a different vehicle regardless, that's a different matter more along lines of what you are saying.
 
Been there, done that - this country gave up on the returnable bottles recycling path ...

I know its one of those "used to be" things. I half expected it stopped for marketing reasons. Who wants to buy a product in a bottle with white rings from it running down the convey lines when you can buy a new shiny one. May have also been a logistical issue too. Coke would only take Coke bottles, so there was still a lot of sorting and transport and whatnot.

As for the car thing, it is less "non-green" to maintain an older one vs manufacturing new. Lots of energy required to turn raw ores and petroleum into the materials in a car. Only really holds up if its something you've already got though.
 
I'm not so sure it is a false equivalency. The 78 Lincoln is just an attention-getting example.The underlying point holds true. If one is set on being environmentally friendly, getting rid of your current vehicle for a new "green" vehicle, simply for the prospect of being green, isn't all that green in the cradle to grave perspective. Sure, it feels good, but...

OTOH, if you are getting a different vehicle regardless, that's a different matter more along lines of what you are saying.

Of course. I think I read somewhere that it really depends on how electricity is generated in your particular state whether an EV is good or just as bad as a dino car for the environment (moslty if your electric grid is fed by coal). But it turns out that in most states, the EV is better for the environment.

Plus, all kidding aside, a mass-migration to electric and continued improvements in the cleanliness of the generation of electricity will make a huge positive impact. And in the end probably be cheaper.
 
One thing we do have plenty of in the UK is water-so handwashers are chuffed
All water systems breed bacteria-chemical countermeasures are equally not a solution.Happy dishwashing[put on some music].
 
My dishwasher at least has a sterilize cycle. It heats the water at the end to basically turn itself into an autoclave. I'm sure its rather foul before being run though. Water usage is a fair bit less with the washer too, though of course it uses electricity. I have a well and septic so the water basically just recycles in the yard, and there is a fair sized solar array on the roof so I'm not really burning grid power when the dishes are washing during the day. Most importantly, I hate washing dishes, and the magic box in the kitchen makes it so I don't have to do much of that.
 
Those things we buy just to throw away...

E v e r y t h i n g .


It's all junk.

Unfixable 'broken-brand-new' junk . Planned that way.

It's all unprimed, you bought it - it's your fault junk.

Zero quality.


... it's really hard for me to deal with really.
 
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Electric is great if you commute a few miles in a city. For the real world it doesn't work. When they come up with an affordable rig that will pull 3 horses, a trailer, all the gear, plus a piggy back camper and go more than 100 miles, I'd be interested. I would do a diesel electric truck as well, if it was affordable. I would totally go electric, as you can get more and better power, but it is decades away from being viable for anything work related for the common man.

Now cordless tools, that's another story. there is little reason to plug in a power cord these days. Most of the guys I know are starting to be totally cordless. Even weedwhackers and blowers, though, for a commercial landscape company, cordless would be a huge pain.

As for what I throw away after I buy it, probably paint supplies the most. Rollers, brushes, screens, trays, etc. Costs more to clean a roller cover than it does to buy new ones. Cheap brushes get tossed, good brushes get cleaned.

We have a bottle bill here. Just went up to 10 cents a container. Good timing, as I have an entire utility room full that I paid 5 cents each for. Doubled my money, whoo-hoo. It definitely works here. Even if the original purchaser tosses it in the ditch, some one will pick it up and cash it in.
 
I know its one of those "used to be" things. I half expected it stopped for marketing reasons. Who wants to buy a product in a bottle with white rings from it running down the convey lines when you can buy a new shiny one. May have also been a logistical issue too. Coke would only take Coke bottles, so there was still a lot of sorting and transport and whatnot.

As for the car thing, it is less "non-green" to maintain an older one vs manufacturing new. Lots of energy required to turn raw ores and petroleum into the materials in a car. Only really holds up if its something you've already got though.

This reminds me of Cuba... They have maintained most of their 50s and 60s American cars (you know the reasons). Too bad we weren't like them, we would all be driving around in stylish cars with Fins...
 
Electric is great if you commute a few miles in a city. For the real world it doesn't work. When they come up with an affordable rig that will pull 3 horses, a trailer, all the gear, plus a piggy back camper and go more than 100 miles, I'd be interested. I would do a diesel electric truck as well, if it was affordable. I would totally go electric, as you can get more and better power, but it is decades away from being viable for anything work related for the common man.

My ranch truck is a 1996 dodge Cummins.. I make about 65% of the fuel I consume. Try it. Do you pull a trailer and camper every day?

We have a bottle bill here. Just went up to 10 cents a container. Good timing, as I have an entire utility room full that I paid 5 cents each for. Doubled my money, whoo-hoo. It definitely works here. Even if the original purchaser tosses it in the ditch, some one will pick it up and cash it in

Great investment! Ever seen Seinfeld? I love that episode!
 
Worse yet--I know a lot of garbage truck/dumpster truck drivers that have told me horror stories about "recycling". Yes, their company provides dumpsters dedicated for recyclable materials, and dedicated trucks with the big recycle logo on the side. But due to the cost of operating their recycle center (all that trash has to be sorted and processed), and multiple OSHA violations, it was no longer "financially viable" to operate the facility, so the facility was closed and the recycle trucks go to the same landfill as the regular trucks. Just because you sort your trash into the cute little blue bins/dumpsters with the recycle logo on it, doesn't necessarily mean that it is actually going to a recycle center--and AFAIK, there is nothing in place regulating that kind of behavior.

Would you support government regulation on recycling? hmm...
 
Would you support government regulation on recycling? hmm...

Unfortunately--NO! Not being anti-government or a militia member, but the quickest way to f**k up something is to put it into the hands of the government. It is an archaic system with too many personal spoons in the pudding. It is more likely better addressed by "the people", and putting pressure in the right places.
 
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