Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with garbage

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?

Does any of our stuff actually get recycled??

jehsom — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:54:40 -0800

How can I make sure my recycling is not ending up in a landfill? Today I just watched my trash/recycling company dump my three weeks' worth of recycling into the same truck as my trash. Just like that. I am indignant.

I want to switch trash companies (because it's not regulated where I live), but I want to know how I can make sure my recycling will actually make it to a recycling center instead of ending up in a landfill. Thanks!

Help me cancel my trash pick up!

futz — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:04:41 -0800

How can I get rid of my trash? My garbage pick up service has raised their prices and I cannot afford it. I am sure that there is a solution that I am not thinking of. I live in the country (US) on an acre of land. A compost pile seems ideal but I already have enough skunks/raccoons/coyote/fox hanging around. A compost pile just seems like a huge invitation even if it is secured. I have 2 dogs that have been skunked a dozen or more times. They kill any creature that comes into their area so I really don't want to attract more critters. I can recycle everything but the stuff that would normally go down a sink disposal. I do not have a sink disposal because I have a septic tank. Any ideas?

is cleaning up after a rally politically noteable?

mdn — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 10:47:55 -0800

What's up with the claim right-wing groups make that their rallies don't leave anything to clean up, while left-wing rallies leave behind tons of litter? eg:
These kind of things. Obviously they are biased sources, but is this a real phenomenon? Are they just lying/ exaggerating, or do they hire people to pick up after them, or just make a big deal about it in the speeches, or what? Maybe there are just less right-wing rallies to compare, or left-wing groups just have more flyers...?
Was anyone in DC to see the actual aftermath of any of these events?
not that it's deeply meaningful, but it just seems like an odd disparity...

Garbage goes in the chute, not on the floor and walls

Majorita — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 16:55:29 -0800

Any tips on how to improve cleanliness of garbage rooms in NYC co-op? In addition to large cans for garbage and recycling in our laundry room on the main floor, each floor of our 6 floor building has a small garbage room with a chute leading to the incinerator. There is a constant problem with residents who apparently just open the door to the garbage room and toss their garbage in, rather than placing it in the chute. And by toss, I mean garbage ends up all over the room -- on the floor, the walls, etc. They also toss bottles, newspapers, and other random items into the rooms. This leads to filth, roaches and bad smells.

There are signs posted on the doors to each room asking people to use the chutes but (surprise, surprise) they have no effect. The board has passed a house rule that anyone caught doing this will be assessed a fine, but we have yet to come up with a way to catch anyone in the act. We don't have money in our budget to install cameras in each room (the cameras themselves aren't that expensive, but wiring them into our existing security system is).

A large portion of our apartments are occupied by tenants, not shareholders. (We are working on this issue, but it's not an overnight fix.) That may be contributing to the problem -- lack of pride in ownership -- but because we don't have proof of who the repeat offenders are, we can't be sure.

Have any co-op dwelling mefites successfully addressed this problem? Any ideas on strategy? Thanks in advance.

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...

I already have a dartboard, so that's out.

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:10:58 -0800

What to do with pictures/mementos of an ex? I'm in the process of moving, for the first time since a breakup (that happened two years ago) with a boyfriend of four years. Coming across old photos, cards, and small gifts from the course of our relationship, I'm not really sure how to proceed.

I don't harbor any ill-will toward my ex, so setting them ablaze isn't something I want to do. And though I have moved on and have been with my current guy for over a year now, it seems silly and petty to just throw them away. It would be like suggesting four years of my life didn't happen. On the other hand, I don't really want to keep them around, either, especially not in some "special box" or something like that, since when I'm reminded of the relationship I mostly think about how much time I wasted on a guy who kind of sucked.

The ideal solution would be to put everything into a small, invisible box that I'd never see or think about, but that would still exist 25 years down the line when I want to bond with my teenage kid.

What do you guys suggest?

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?

Ok, what's really worth recycling?

swimming naked when the tide goes out — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:38:47 -0800

After reading this old recycling thread, I wonder something..... 1) We are reasonable able to list off the things that are accepted at recycling depots...cardboard, various plastics, computer equipment, etc.

2) People more knowledgeable than I know what effort it takes to transport, break down, and re-use the materials that are gleaned from this recycling.

3) So is there a list of each of these materials, listing which are worth recycling and which are not, based on the value of the recovered materials and what transportation costs are associated with them?

I want to use/buy less stuff, but the stuff that I do buy and use, I want to know *specifically* what's better to put in the landfill myself rather than paying my taxes to pay a private company to ship somewhere else that may result in the refuse being thrown in a landfill farther away.

Pre-snark: I know that recycling is valuable for a number of things and wish to do what I can. I also don't want to further hurt the planet by just following directions blidly.

Secrets of the garbage and recycling industry? What is not so green? etc

abbat — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:02:34 -0800

With everyone being "green" and rushing to save the planet, what are some of the things that people should be wary off? From sketchy advertising to just pure fraud to other not so obvious ploys. For example, there was a story in my local paper where a reporter found out the city did not actually recycle some of the truckloads of compost for a period of time because of unforseen circumstances. There was a cover up and this was going on when the city paid a premium price to have the waste recycled. People believed that they were helping the planet by recycling instead of putting out the waste in the landfills. What other things have you read or seen first hand in your city or community or workplace?

How to prevent people from throwing away their trash in a can not theirs?

Charmian — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:09:27 -0800

What to do about people putting their trash in trash cans which are not theirs? A friend of mine has a problem: she lives in a duplex, and some people, who are probably the people who live in the neighboring duplex, keep putting their trash in her garbage can, filling it up entirely. Although she has not seen them doing so, because their garage is right next to hers (she puts her garbage can outside next to the garage), she suspects they are the culprits. The garages are not visible from the street, making it unlikely that an outside person is doing it, and their garbage can is overflowing with trash, although they for some reason do not take it out to the curb.

She complained to the landlord, but the landlord doesn't seem to want to do anything since she doesn't have concrete proof it's them doing it. She put her garbage can inside of the garage, but she would rather not do that.

Any suggestions on how she can discourage people from leaving their trash inside of her garbage can?

Toronto electronics disposal?

LukeyBoy — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:40:08 -0800

Where can I dispose of broken tech and appliances in Toronto? I've got a bunch of old, dead computer parts, a busted laptop, a dead vacuum, and well the list goes on. I've been hoarding them since I can't just toss them in the garbage obviously. We're paying a disposal tax now on all electronics purchases and I thought that disposal centers went along with that but I can't seem to find them. Anyone know the best way to dispose of this stuff? Thanks.

Where can I find detailed statistics on the garbage sitting in landfills?

wandergeek — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:20:47 -0800

I'm looking for statistics on the types of garbage that's currently sitting in American landfills. Does anybody have any good resources for this? To be clear, I'm trying to find the percentage of paper, plastics, metal, etc as they contribute to the greater whole. Statistics from other countries are welcomed too.

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 the beautiful dancing napkin video!

wsg — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:28:55 -0800

Several years ago there was a captivating video on the web of a napkin or piece of paper wafting/dancing in the gentle breeze on a street sidewalk. It was caught in a little vortex. It was several minutes long and was quite beautiful. My google-fu has failed me and none of the search terms I can think of have turned up anything. Anybody remember this charming little video?

Which papers go in the rectangular file and which go in the circular file?

fiercecupcake — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:08:53 -0800

What important household papers and documents must I keep and file? What papers are OK to throw away? My wife and I are going to go through a ton of old stuff tonight that needs to be filed. What is important for us to hold on to? What is not worth our time to file?

We bought a house last year. We have two cars and no car payments. We have student loans.

Documents may include, but are not limited to:
- mortgage stuff
- water and utility bills (electric, septic maintenance)
- tax things from previous jobs
- insurance bills/statements (car, house, life)
- ??? whatever fun things have been stacked in piles

Please hope me. This seems daunting.

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.

Looking for a very special garbage can

boombot — Wed, 21 May 2008 10:28:41 -0800

The cupboard beneath my sink would seem to be an oddball, I've never found a garbage can that will fit it perfectly - 20 inches high, 10 inches wide, 15 inches deep. I usually buy taller containers and cut them down. I'd love to find something built to fit. Is there a site you can go to find such a thing, or, even better, where you can input the dimensions of the container you're looking for, and then browse results?

Help me stop using plastic bags

backseatpilot — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:14:39 -0800

I'd like to stop using plastic grocery bags, but I use them as liners in all of my garbage cans (including the kitchen, where stuff thrown in tends to be moist food detritus). Any ideas on what to use as garbage liners in lieu of the plastic bags?

Help me fight the power and get rid of my stinky trash!

parilous — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:22:00 -0800

My HOA negotiated an exclusive contract with a garbage company -- and the garbage company has increased rates and decreased service. Help! I live in a planned community and the HOA (which is still partly under control from the developer via a management company) has negotiated an exclusive contract with Waste Management.

Unfortunately, WM has reduced service (waste pickup on Tuesdays; recycle pickup on Fridays) from the previous schedule (waste/recycle pickup on Tuesdays & Fridays) AND increased their rates.

I'd like to switch to another service (one that services 2x a week), but was told by WM that I cannot cancel service and that no other providers were allowed in the community due to the exclusive contract.

My problem with this situation isn't that I have too much trash, but rather my trash tends to be the decomposing/smelly kind (like broccoli, raw chicken, and cat litter) rather than the cardboard/recyclable kind. However, I can't keep my trash bin outside due to the HOA regulations, and I can't even keep it in the backyard. Thus, my garage is hella-stinky. (Yes, I bag my trash; yes, the container is closed. It's just that I live in the desert where, for most of the year, my garage is 80+ degrees.)

Another community in town has been having the same problem (and even admitted to not knowing that they were signing an exclusive contract) but they have not resolved the issue.

So, what do you suggest? A coup d'etat of the HOA would take time, but I have no interest in serving on the board -- I just want my stinky trash picked up more often. Could I tell WM that I'm moving and cancel service that way? What's the worst that could happen if I violate my HOA rules?

Do Not Mail List

destro — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:05:03 -0800

How do I stop paper junk mail? Is there an equivalent of the government Do Not Call List for regular mail?