Gosh, I had no idea you could compost feathers!
1 Like
I found out you can compost hair too. I give my husband haircut frequently so thatās what I will throw in my compost. Feathers are said to be high in nitrogen, good for feeding strawberries and corn.
1 Like
I have 2 in-ground worm composting bins that have been pretty darn great. The worms break stuff down way faster than a normal compost bin. I bought one from an Australian company called Sub Pod (itās really fantastic), but I made my other one with a 5-gallon Home Depot bucketā¦drilled holes on all sides of it (bottom included), stuck it in the raised bed, covered the top with a big clay pot saucer.
Thanks to those 2 worm bins, I no longer put any more paper into our recycle bin. Junk mail gets shredded in our paper shredder and then gets diverted into the worm bins. All fruit & vegetable waste gets composted by the worms. Cardboard, too.
4 Likes
Thatās really cool. (We have friends who raise egg-laying chickens who eat food scraps, but not paper and cardboard.) Do the worms survive winter weather?
I called three pharmacies and spoke to the pharmacist at two stores. Not one had a clue on how to dispose of the nerve block. One suggested putting it in a recyclable plastic container and then placing that in the plastic recycling. SIL goes back to the orthopedic doc on Monday and he will take the block. Right now, itās in a plastic containerāone of those big rectangular containers for greens.
2 Likes
Yes, his md should have suggestion on disposalāpossibly the medical center or their pharmacy may also have disposal suggestions.
We donāt get snow or freezing temps here. During our 6 months of summer, they tend to burrow down deeper into the ground once air temps go above 95.
1 Like
As long as the material the worms are in doesnāt freeze theyāll survive. My neighbor has them and they just burrow deeper in the ground over the winter, zone 6.
2 Likes
We are in zone 8 and we have a Subpod Mini. The worms were fine last winter, but they have not experienced summer here yet. I have them in deep shade.
1 Like
The type of plastic matters. Plastic 1 and 2 are more cost effectively recycled than others, so the recycling market is greater for them.
One of the confusing things to us has been that our local recycling guidelines never mention the recycling numeric designation (1, 2 etc). We have helpful photo overviews, a Waste Wizard app etc. But in some ways it was simpler to just look at the number.
Our recycling says theyāll take anything with a number. (I think to make it simpler for us, and therefore to get better results.) I believe it then gets sorted on their end, and I suspect, much of it gets tossed. They used to make quite a bit shipping it off to China, but that market died out, even before the pandemic.
2 Likes
My husband doesnāt know how to sort them either, he figures they sort them out at their end.
In LA now, my daughter said people have to compost, she has a small container in her kitchen, thereās a central bin to dump her vegetable waste in her building.
I donāt spend more money to compost, I spend less, hence the benefits of reusing/composting things. It has to make economic sense otherwise most people donāt want to do it.
I have 2 large, unopened, plastic containers of Jif that were recalled. What is the best way to dispose of them?
I would return to the store.
7 Likes
So far we are happy with our April switch (added a 96 gallon compost bin, which is mostly yard waste / switched from 96 to 48 gallon for trash since most waste goes into Compost or Recycle).
Still experimenting with what we need on the kitchen counter. For now we temporarily are using an 80oz plastic container (from All laundry pod). It fills in about a week, with 2 peopleās food waste and napkins. My intention was to put a small plate on top as lid, but it has not gotten smelly.
Processing: 815790B5-705F-44BC-85B4-184CA9CCFE34.jpegā¦
Last week shared info with a new-ish neighbor about the waste diversion center in our town. She was delighted to have a place to take rigid white styrofoam, closer than the county center she had used.
Iāve been happy to see smarter packaging trends, like the pictured box insert which can go into our curbside recycle bin.
I had to come back here and post about a new product I was introduced to.
Our AIRBNB in Canada had a āCovid Packageā - a sponge, potholders, kitchen tea towel and a reusable paper towel - all which were to be removed or disposed of from the AIRBNB before we left.
I loved the reusable āpaper towelā!!! Iām constantly wiping counters, around the sink etc. - I know I waste paper towels this way. This product can be rinsed out by hand or put in the washer. Itās stiffer when dry but soft and sturdy when wet. After a week of using just one, I think they will have longevity. I came home, looked them up and immediately bought this 10 pack. Iāll aim to change them daily in my kitchen.
Swedish Dishcloths:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLC817N?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Maybe someone mentioned them upthread, but after using them, Iām SOLD!
1 Like
A few years ago, I got rid of all my plastic storage containers and switched to glass storage containers. I found that I often had small, leftover food items that were just too small for my glass containers so ended up using plastic sandwich bags. Iām probably late to the party, but a friend recently turned me on to these reuseable food-grade silicone storage bags.
1 Like
How do they do in the dishwasher? I have some similar but I donāt think they fare well in the dishwasher - the āzipā sometimes seems to be affected.