I am trying to reduce my garbage from my household. Two big fillers are milk jugs and flat cardboard boxes (ie, cereal and pop boxes). Anybody have any great ideas for recycling them. Our city doesn't recycle.
Milk Jugs: If you have a large freezer, you can store water in them for emergency situations, and helps increase the efficiency of your freezer. Plus if your water pump goes out on your car, you'll have a big supply of cold water; still fresh in my mind. We also use them for mixing large amounts of juice concentrate for picnics or at home, holding motor oil, when we change the oil and the baby loves to run off with them and hit his big brother!
The flat cardboard boxes you can use for shipping or storing fragile items in larger boxes. If you have can redemption, the pop boxes are great for storing the empties back into and transporting. (07/12/2006)
By Kelly
I have been using a few spare milk jugs to catch water from the sink while waiting for the water to heat up. I use the "recycled" water for pets, watering plants, even filling the clothes washer.
With some jugs, we cut part of the tops off, leaving the handle in tact, and use the jug for storing nails, screws, small tools, just about anything that will fit. It can also be used for lugging water around the house for small cleaning jobs, such as, baseboards, light switch plates, door knobs, etc. (07/13/2006)
I just recently used milk jugs with the spout cut off, but leaving the handle intact, to temporarily pot some tree seedlings. The trees will eventually go into the ground, but needed a home until then. I also use them for used motor oil.
I use old cereal boxes in many crafts. I use them to make smaller gift boxes and cover them with nice paper or paint.
You could see if any churches or schools in your area could use either material for crafts! (07/14/2006)
By Marisa
I always break down the boxes and fold them to fit in the garbage bag, and with milk jugs, I rinse them out and "smash" them. Less wasted space in garbage bags. (07/15/2006)
By janice
Reuse is your key to create less trash! Once you reuse a say a milk jug for something else you in-turn save the material, energy, and money it would take to create that item.
When you do your trash make sure it is as small and flat as possible, less as much of the air as it can possibly be. You even get an exercise benefit by doing that. Try cutting both lids off the tin cans if you must throw them away, then the squeezing or flattening them.
Plastic soda bottles? There are probably thousands of reuse possibilities for plastic bottles. They are next to impossible to recycle, so again if you must throw them out you have differant venues you can use. Flatten them with your feet. I once cut up an uncounted number of 20 oz plastic bottles into tiny little pieces and funneled them all into a 2-litre plastic bottle then capped it. On that alone I probably saved 2 whole trash bags and I occupied myself for hours.
I also have stuffed vast amounts of trash into one 2 litre bottle. One time a whole waste can full.
Garbage, well there is always composting or donating your left overs to a farmer .
I guess you know about the crafts you can do with those meat styrofom platters? Oh, I once used many of those platters piled together in a certain number to help insulate my dogs house. I simply built two walls all around and stuck those clean meat trays inside with some old plastic covering. Shep never complained.
Then you have your detergent and other bottles. Yes, you can reuse some of them, but you are better off trying alternative safer cleaning products. You can find them on here and on Frugal. The funny part, most of these alternatives are even cheaper and are multi-use. Will they clean as good? We don't even know what harm, say using a chemical detergent does to our bodies over a long period of time, so you miight consider this aspect when you try alternatives.
What is left? Paperboard cereal boxes. Well I am right now trying to make up a list of 100 alternative reuses of these things. At least they are biodegradable and as far as I know the printing inks aren't too bad on the environment.
I just happened to look at what I use for a mouse pad. It is just one panel of an Eggo Waffle box. I have had it here for at least 2 years and it still works. Less trouble with my mouse. I think I have had to clean it once. So there is at least 1 part of 1 EGGO Waffle box that hasn't hit the landfill yet, and when it does it will be torn into very small pieces.
Trash Today, Reuse it Tomorrow and Save Money, Time And Energy.
Click. I guess my mouse agrees.
I Wish You Less Trash.
Mr Thrifty
(07/15/2006)
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