How do you manage plastics?

[Vinaya]

Plastic does not easily rot. When you burn plastic,it will release poisionous gas. Thus plastic management is very hard. How do you manage plastics? Do you send plastics to your trash collector,or recycle/upcycle?
I recycle and upcycle my plastic waste.
I use plastic jars to store seeds,plastic bottle as vase for small plants.I use plastic sheets or plastic bags to create rope.

 

[abonnen]

I reuse certain plastic containers and such I try to upcycle as much as possible, but I do throw plastic away, we recently moved to a place really far away from any main town that offers recycling. I really try not to buy plastic item if I can. It is not that I don't want to recycle its that I don't have a drop spot near. I could save everything up for a month and take it I just haven't found a place to store these do to animals.

 

[Beverly]

I collect plastics and send them to the recycle facility. I gather the plastics in bags and leave the bags at the curb of the street. People who are wanting to earn a little extra money take the bags to the recycle center and are paid a small amount. I rarely upcycle, especially when an item is being left outside. In the zone 11, heat and humidity can break down plastics as fast as you can turn around. There are some clever people who upcycle old tires though. I upcycle spray bottles for various garden uses like spraying soapy water on mealy bugs and such, or spraying soapy water with a few drops of cinnamon and clove oil at an overflow of ants. I have dozens of different organic concoctions with different remedies in them so these reused spray bottles come in very handy.

 

[marlingardener]

Beverly, are you my nearest cousin? I upcycle spray bottles for various garden uses.
We too use old spray bottles for various purposes, even with vinegar water to clean mirrors! I buy as little plastic as possible, but in these days, plastic is a fact of life. We take our recyclable plastic into the next larger town (our town doesn't offer a recycling center) once a month, or thereabouts.
Two litre soda bottles (we don't have many, but I grab the ones we have and stash them in the barn) make great slow waterers for vegetables. I cut off the bottom, remove the cap, bury them half-way upside-down next to a tomato, pepper, or cucumber plant, and fill the bottle with water. The water slowly seeps to the roots of the plant. It's deep watering and drip irrigation combined!
As an aside, would you be willing to post your recipes for different organic concoctions with different remedies? I think it would be very helpful to me personally, and most likely to many of the members here. Having the concoctions and what they treat all in one spot would be great!

 

[rz3300]

Reusing them is my number one goal, and I would like to think that I have gotten pretty good at it over the years. Aside from that, though, we have a local place here that takes anything you need to get rid of and ensures it does so in a "green" way, and I appreciate that. I think that it is a growing business too, which is good to see. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Beverly]

@marlingardener...very possible we are related or maybe by accident we just have similar DNA. And i can take your vinegar spray bottle one step further. Use it to clean the bathrooms, especially the shower where that yucky scum builds up on the tiles. I haven't found a more effective way of getting rid of the yucky scum than with full strength apple cider vinegar and vigorous scrubbing is not even necessary. Plus a combination of apple cider vinegar and baking soda can freshen up the drains and help clear them depending on how severe the clog. So you might need 2 spray bottles. One with a water and vinegar mix and one with full strength a.c. vinegar. Gradually, i have stopped purchasing most commercial cleaning products so i am getting fewer and fewer spray bottles. I am very fussy, i like the sprays that have both "spray" and "stream" settings. For awhile though i have been saving the commercial spray bottles so i have a supply of waiting clean and empty ones.

As for deep water drip irrigation, for years i have used empty wine bottles because of the long necks, fill them with water and maybe some liquid molasses and push them into the earth, upside down up to the long neck. This is great if you are going to be away from home for a few days. Same principal just a bit different method.

I think it is a super idea to have an organic recipe thread for every one to post their concoctions. A lot of the ones i use, i have learned at this site. Different climate areas would possibly use different ingredients depending on what is available. So i would like to see everyone posting their recipes for organic solutions for garden problems and for cleaning products. I would certainly be happy to post mine. I am not a very organized person, but for awhile i have been writing down interesting organic solution recipes on pieces of paper that always seem to surround my desk. I will dig around and see what i have listed and add those as well to the list. Right now, i have a deadline very near to renew my Visa and this is going to take at least 2 weeks. So i am not quite ready to jump into this task because i need to focus on the Visa renewal. If you want to get one started, that would be great. If not i'll most likely be available in a couple of weeks. I think it is a great idea

 

[Beth_B]

Ha! I have one spray bottle that is about three years old and still working...I use it for the water:vinegar mix for general cleaning.

I try to avoid buying things that are excessively packaged. Also I live near (though not in) Flint Michigan, which will be recognizeable to anyone who reads the news. I do not have curb-side recycling where I live, but can now take plastic waste to the Flint water distribution centers; they take plastic waste.

I also just bought an indoor-outdoor rug on amazon dot com that is made of recycled plastic.

 

[Beverly]

O look @marlingardener ... another relative @Beth_B Even i've heard of Flint, Michigan Beth (by way of Anderson Cooper and other sources. I simply haven't been able to process the severity and criminal activity associated with that. I'll bet there are a lot more Flints in the US and i hope people are having their water tested frequently.

 

[Beth_B]

Yes, for months we pretty much had to scrape mega-churches and celebrities donating water to Flint off our windshields every morning. So much bottled water was being donated when it was all over the news and photo-ops were available, there was a glut of free designer water. People figured it out and were just going to the locations giving away real spring water or the designer stuff. The heck with the mere purified water!

Now there are dedicated water giveaways throughout the city, with traffic control signs. All over the city, people's houses are dwarfed by giant mountains of bottled water in driveways. They'll give you 20-40 cases without question, per visit.

And yes, lead in water (and soil) is an issue for older cities not just in the USA but around the world. Flint raised awareness I guess. So yay Flint?

I moved away from there six years ago mainly because of the laughably incompetent city govt. I simply did not want any more of my tax money going to those clowns.

But I digress. Anyhow yes, all the distribution sites now will take plastic waste so that is another good thing.

 

[remnant]

We reuse plastics when we are not able to recycle them. For instance, plastic bottles can be used for irrigation by filling them with water during the dry reason and then placing them close to plant roots. This is a form of drip irrigation. Plastic bottles are also used to store water and condiments or used as holders. Combustible plastics are used to light fires.