Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with garbage and resolved

VOKRA Commander Seeks Chemical Weapon

justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:48:06 -0800

What would be the best way to subdue an urban skunk? Bubbles is an urban skunk, a juvenile who lives in the West End neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada. He's named for the fact that he has a bubble tea lid stuck around his neck. As he grows, that lid will choke him. With help from the Vancouver Orphaned Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA), a team of neighborhood volunteers is trying to capture Bubbles so that his plastic death-collar can be removed.

“We vow to go out every night until we can save him,” said rescuer Tracy Dundass. “We love animals and we are not afraid to help this animal in distress.” They have been canvassing the neighborhood asking residents to report sightings of Bubbles so that they can sweep in to help him.

As for tactics, volunteer Drina Read said that “if we have about three or more people, we should be able to surround it, move in and take off the lid.” That is the craziest idea I've heard all week. They've actually tried to do this, but the elusive skunk managed to slip away again after a two-hour standoff. To date, Bubbles remains at large.

Given that their current tactics are both ineffective and bizarre, I was wondering if the mefi hive mind could suggest anything better. I certainly hope that tranquilizer dart guns are illegal in Canada. What would be workable? Live traps? Hazmat suits? Tomato juice and a super-soaker?

This is not an abstract question. If we could actually find a workable set of tactics, Ms. Read's phone number and email address have been posted here.

^{(previously on askMeFi, the more sensible question of how to make a skunk stop entering a backyard)}

Need help with garbage disposal

KevinSkomsvold — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:08:06 -0800

Need help with wiring a garbage disposal. I wish this were for a boutique amp but it's for a very non-boutique garbage disposal. The last one I hooked up was easy-peasy but I got this cheaper GE model and the instructions on wiring suck.

I have a dedicated circuit with a white and yellow wire

And the GE unit, a gfc300t, has a brown and blue wire.

^%$#!!!!

Any ideas on what goes to what?

Is a specialised drawer under the kitchen sink for garbage & recycling bins a good idea?

UbuRoivas — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 13:35:38 -0800

TrashFilter: Is a specialised drawer under the kitchen sink for garbage & recycling bins a good idea? As part of a kitchen remodel, I'm looking at installing a drawer under the sink for bins.

A number of reputable-looking companies offer readymade solutions. For some reason, they all seem to be European, for whatever that's worth.

I have some issues with the designs & was wondering if anybody out there has experience with these kinds of things? Specifically:

1. Do smells stay in? The bins usually don't have lids, but slide in underneath a shelf *just* above them - not really airtight.

2. Are pests a problem? See above.

3. What are the chances of being able to replace a broken plastic bin, years down the track? The designs all rely on the vendor's particularly shaped & designed bins.

4. Most importantly: what do these solutions offer, that makes them any better than just having a normal drawer under your sink, and putting your own bins from K-Mart or Ikea in there?

There's obviously a market for these specialised designs, so what's the big appeal?

What to do with old box twin spring & twin mattress?

_DB_ — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:02:16 -0800

What to do with old box twin spring & twin mattress? I just purchased a new mattress and now have an old box spring and mattress that I need to get rid of. I would prefer to not donate them to the dumpster; anyone have any ideas on what to do with them?

Kitty litter disposal dilemma

analog — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:30:43 -0800

Apparently biodegradable plastic bags are causing problems in my city's waste and recycling/green bin system. I did not know this. What should I do about disposing of my kitty litter? I thought I was doing a good thing by using biodegradable bags in my green bin, but apparently this affects Toronto's bottom line (the bags reportedly don't navigate well in the green bin system and they contaminate recyclable plastic when placed in the blue bin). The city apparently doesn't want compostable bags to be used, either. So the question is this: Should I use non-biodegradable bags and keep my kitty litter in the green bin (apparently they remove the bags in the process)? Or use biodegradable bags and put the litter in the garbage? Which is the lesser sin? Just so you know, composting my litter is not an option in my current housing set-up.

Oh, and the cat whose waste is prompting this question - here. Thanks for your input...

Is my recycling really being recycled?

purpleclover — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:50:17 -0800

How is it possible that paper is not hopelessly contaminated in single-stream recycling? My county is going to a single-stream recycling system soon. I don't understand how any usable paper is retrieved from bins that are full of drips of salad dressing and beer from bottles, dampened by rain, etc. I found this Recycling Today article from 2002 that talks about broken glass being a significant contaminant, but 2002 was a long time ago. Is it any better now? Or are we just feeling eco-virtuous but secretly sending our paper off to a landfill?

Garbage In -> Garbage Out

2bucksplus — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:01:42 -0800

If you use canvas bags when you grocery shop, what do you do with your household garbage? Do you buy purpose-specific trash bags? This has been bugging me for a long, long time. Everyone's always trying to sell me on reusable canvas bags for groceries. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the number of bags I take in from grocery and other shopping almost exactly matches the volume of trash generated in my household. I therefore reuse the shopping bags I receive as trash bags and have never bought "capital T" Trash bags. If you never take plastic bags at your points of sale, what are you using for trash bags?

When do you stop seeing seagulls at the dump?

Mayor Curley — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:41:15 -0800

In North America, how far inland do you have to be before you stop finding seagulls at garbage dumps?

Help me find this grocery bag using trash bin., or something similar, please.

RunawayOctober — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:55:10 -0800

Help me find this grocery bag using trash bin., or something similar, please. I StumbledUpon this link and think it would be an awesome gift for my mother. She doesn't want to use reusable bags because she takes 8-10 empty aluminum cans to the recycle bin every morning along with a bag of cat poop/liter from cleaning the litter box. For convenience she uses two grocery bags a day for the job. If she's going to use bags I figured I may as well make it easy for her.