Rubbish
Garbage and Recycling Collection
If you’re in a rural area you may already have to get your
own garbage and recyclables to the dump. But if you’re like
most people in the industrialized world, you’re an urban
dweller, and your garbage is picked up and taken away on a regular
basis.
There are a lot of events that could disrupt that service. Industrial
and economic collapse are obviously big ones, but strikes are
not uncommon either. A long-term collapse in garbage collection
would probably happen at the same time as a collapse in the consumption
of disposable items, so this may not be much of a problem for
some people. However, it’s still relevant for the present
time.
I actually have pretty mixed feelings about recycling as it is.
One major problem is the fact that some people who recycle think
that it is all that they could be expected to do: “I recycle,
I help the environment, what more can you ask of me?” However,
recycling barely diminishes the negative effects of industrial
civilization. In fact, by providing a cheap source of refined
metals, pulp, glass and plastics, recycling increases the efficiency
and the longevity of civilization.
I think one of the primary characteristics of civilization is
its tendency to extract and centralize resources. Centralized
resources can be controlled, defended and manipulated more easily
than distributed resources. The centralization is necessary in
a machine culture—an industrial society—because high
concentrations of resources are required to feed the ravenous
machines. Distributed resources are fine for living creatures,
because living creatures adapt to the conditions wherever they
are.
Resources are redistributed in a controlled way through consumables.
Many modern consumables are intentionally designed to be non-reusable,
and to have disposable packaging to increase consumption. These
resources are recentralized for civilization by recycling collection.
This provides an extra supply of raw resources which can be used.
The paper can be recycled into propaganda to rationalize the actions
and beliefs of those in power. The steel can be recycled into
more machines, or made along with glass into containers to bring
the products of global industrial agriculture to the homes of
“consumers”.
Is it really in our best interests to make anything easier for
civilization than it needs to be? Do we really want to give it
some of the few resources that we have under our control? These
are challenging questions.
In any case, you have plenty of options to reuse materials that
you would otherwise recycle industrially. This is a topic that
will be covered in depth in later writings, under the subject
of what I like to call “Remnant Resources”—resources
that industrial society produced, but can not be produced by ecological
and egalitarian communities. These are resources that are around
for now, but will eventually run out because of use and degradation.
In the mean time, here are some suggestions for how to handle
different materials:
Organics
Kitchen scraps and other organic materials can be composted
to add to your garden, or simply returned to the earth.
Plastics
Plastic jars and bottles can, of course, be reused as containers.
As described in the Solar Disinfection and Water Storage sections,
PETE and HDPE containers are preferred for food and water storage.
Plastic pop bottles, the large ones in
particular, can be used as irrigation systems for your garden.
Tammy T. suggests poking about twenty small holes in a pop bottle
and burying it so that only the mouth is visible. You can bury
them every few feet or so, depending on the soil and climate.
Then you can fill them up (with a funnel if it helps) every few
days, and the water will gradually trickle directly to the roots
of the plants.
Unfortunately, Tammy notes, plastic milk jugs are not well suited
for this or other long-term storage uses. They tend to become
cracked and brittle in about six months.
Plastic shopping bags are present in incredible numbers, and
if allowed to blow into the wild they are a menace. However, they
can be very useful for carrying things while they are intact.
They can also be cut down the sides and included in shelter or
clothing as improvised water-proofing or vapour barrier. Melting
shopping bags with a flame will give an improvised hot glue, and
can also be used as improvised caulking. For instance, they can
be used to seal the openings around pipes in the barrel of the
slow sand filter described in the water section. They can also
be made into cordage.
However, if there is any other option, styrofoam and plastics
should not be burned. In many cases, their burning releases a
variety of toxic chemicals, including dioxin. So, while burning
plastic rubbish is a way of getting rid of plastic where you are,
it simply spreads the pollution into the air and water, where
it can not be contained. If certain plastics are no longer useful,
put them in a dry, out-of-the-way place and store them indefinitely.
(Better but more complex solutions than this will be discussed
in later writings.) One situation where it may be appropriate
to incinerate plastics is to dispose of very contagious medical
waste. However, never burn plastic inside or in a poorly ventilated
area, as the gases produced are harmful.
Metal
Steel cans can be reused for any number of purposes. They can
be made into cooking stoves, pots, drinking and storage containers.
If you have no aluminum foil, you can cut the tops off of two
cans, place cut vegetables inside of them, jam them together,
and cook the container in the fire. The non-enameled types may
rust over time, depending on storage conditions. However, aluminum
cans, including most beer cans, will not rust. Thus they are good
for storing water. Slit down the side and flattened out, they
can be used as waterproof, long-lasting improvised shingles.
Glass
Glass jars and bottles can be used, of course, as containers,
and will last a long time. Thick glass can be used for knapping
(chipping to create arrow-heads or other tools).
Paper and Cardboard
Paper and cardboard can be used for fuel for your stove. They
can also be used for mulching and composting, but use only papers
printed with black and white, soy-based inks. Colour inks and
other types of ink include toxins that you don’t want to
introduce to the soil. Layers of corrugated cardboard can make
a decent insulation, as do layers of newspaper stuffed into your
clothing, though both are flammable.
Polycoat
Tetrapaks and other modern packaging often consists of multiple
layers of plastic, foil, and paper, called “polycoat”.
This can be difficult to deal with. You are best off trying to
reuse the containers. However, many people I know simply burn
off the plastic and paper, and fish the foil out of the ashes.
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