So I just responded to a neighborhood email re: recycling

**KenJongIll** · 11-16-2019, 10:23 PM

One of the typical neighborhood email groups.
One of our neighbors is particularly passionate about recycling. Extremely passionate.
Today she posts that she has found a company that you can mail, yes mail...your #5 clam shell plastic containers to, after you wash/clean them.
One neighbor responded that he didn’t think it made sense.
She , of course, had a long response trying to rationalize it.
I finally lost it, and after biting my tongue for the past year, I responded. I think my wife was horrified but I can’t take the insanity any longer and I don’t care what anyone thinks...mailing our trash isn’t sustainable.

I was nice but pointed out that giving the cash equivalent of the postage would more beneficial than mailing our trash.

Was I wrong?

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**Flyoverland Captive** · 11-16-2019, 10:33 PM

Give her your crap and let her mail it for you. Win-win.

**2FUNKY** · 11-16-2019, 10:35 PM

Originally Posted by Flyoverland Captive

Give her your crap and let her mail it for you. Win-win.

That’s what I was thinking. Start dumping all your plastic crap in her yard.

**DJSapp** · 11-16-2019, 10:43 PM

Or you could point out that after you mail your crap to whomever, it is getting shipped to China and dumped along the way...

**KenJongIll** · 11-16-2019, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by Flyoverland Captive

Give her your crap and let her mail it for you. Win-win.

Fantastic idea..

I’m just waiting for the backlash against me..

I don’t give 2 shits, but should be interesting. I told my wife, 80% of the people were wanting/thinking what I said but are too scared too.,I just couldn’t take another fucking recycling email with out responding

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**MakersTeleMark** · 11-16-2019, 10:58 PM

Post her address. We can send her a bunch of stuff COD.

**idahospud** · 11-16-2019, 11:20 PM

I think the mistake was getting involved in some sort of neighborhood email list. Everything after that initial choice is just collateral damage.

**concretejungle** · 11-16-2019, 11:29 PM

Pretty sure I listened to a podcast where an economist said that it’s better for the environment to throw your plastic away.

Maybe call her out on the reduce part of reduce, reuse, recycle.

**fatnslow** · 11-16-2019, 11:52 PM

Is your neighbor hot ? Sounds like a great time to unsubscribe from that list and burn her house down fueled by plastic clam shells.

**riser3** · 11-17-2019, 07:04 AM

Originally Posted by concretejungle

Pretty sure I listened to a podcast where an economist said that it’s better for the environment to throw your plastic away.

Maybe call her out on the reduce part of reduce, reuse, recycle.

Reduce. Absolutely.

**t-the-east** · 11-17-2019, 07:07 AM

Pics of the neighbor? Or her sister/roommate. Preferably wearing nothing but a clamshell.

**Vt-Freeheel** · 11-17-2019, 08:31 AM

We need clam shot to form proper opinion.

SB · 11-17-2019, 08:43 AM

She wants to recycle the clam.

**fastfred** · 11-17-2019, 08:58 AM

just read and article this morning about how they burn plastic in indonisia to make tofu
maybe just mail it directly to them?

I always like it when I'm at the dump and I see tons of recyclables getting dumped in the dump
I should take a photo

recycling is one of those things that just feels good the amount of energy wasted cleaning handling and shipping somewhere amounts to nothing

**riser3** · 11-17-2019, 10:19 AM

There should be strong legislation limiting single use plastic containers.

**Mofro261** · 11-17-2019, 10:22 AM

Definitely the proper email response should be:

"I've heard Vagasil works great for cleaning clamshells."

**Mofro261** · 11-17-2019, 10:29 AM

Re: recycling. Over recycling causes much of it to go the land fill. China stopped taking our trash ~18mo ago but US markets exist for glass, alu, and paper. Keep it clean and dont obsess.

**I've seen black diamonds!** · 11-17-2019, 01:20 PM

Originally Posted by idahospud

I think the mistake was getting involved in some sort of neighborhood email list. Everything after that initial choice is just collateral damage.

This.

**skiballs** · 11-17-2019, 01:35 PM

Landfills are just storage areas for future use, when the materials become scarce. OP, do you wear your apron will reading community emails?

**schindlerpiste** · 11-17-2019, 01:39 PM

Your first mistake was getting involved in a neighborhood e-mail group.
I always try to keep space (ever since one of my more pointed e-mails was submitted to The NY Times for print by a deranged neighbor)

KQ · 11-17-2019, 01:40 PM

Where I live it is becoming increasingly hard to recycle. We are limited to cardboard, newspaper, mixed paper and Plastic that are 1 & 2. No glass.

If I were president I would champion the development of a sustainable US based recycle industry that would create jobs and reduce the amount of refuse going to landfills but I know... that's just crazy talk.

**schindlerpiste** · 11-17-2019, 01:46 PM

That's good talk

**The AD** · 11-17-2019, 01:46 PM

This reminds of the Seinfeld episode where Newman and Kramer want to drive to Michigan to return bottles for the deposit.

**uglymoney** · 11-17-2019, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by KQ

Where I live it is becoming increasingly hard to recycle. We are limited to cardboard, newspaper, mixed paper and Plastic that are 1 & 2. No glass.

If I were president I would champion the development of a sustainable US based recycle industry that would create jobs and reduce the amount of refuse going to landfills but I know... that's just crazy talk.

Lucky that where we live we can recycle nearly everything still for now. Even pizza boxes that are soiled with food and can't be recycled by paper companies go to our compost center. Plastic bags all go to stores. Any consumable plastic you'd get from a store. Glass, even though the city says it would make more sense to go to the landfill, is recycled because people want the service.

Alas some people are super stoked on recycling to the point of absurdity. My wife for one. I say let them be. I'm obsessed with skiing, wasting time on here, mostly with people I have never met and at times it is caustic and wasteful and downright stupid. We all have our thing. I can go on and on about this recycling thing with my wife but when it comes down to it I just throw shit away behind her back if I think it is going to be too much hassle or delay involved in 'proper recycling'. Sleeping dogs. Let them rest. Generally recycling is a good thing and that is good enough for me.

**idahospud** · 11-17-2019, 07:00 PM

Originally Posted by KQ

Where I live it is becoming increasingly hard to recycle. We are limited to cardboard, newspaper, mixed paper and Plastic that are 1 & 2. No glass.

If I were president I would champion the development of a sustainable US based recycle industry that would create jobs and reduce the amount of refuse going to landfills but I know... that's just crazy talk.

KQ 2020!