Eco to Go: Packaging Redux
A column that shares lessons learned in taking the Dancing Rabbit lifestyle to the city.
by Jacob Stevens Corvidae
In response to my last article on packaging, I received the following letter:
Jacob,
I have tried to bring a canvas bag with me always and to reuse bags wherever possible and I have kept bags for years because I feel guilty throwing them away. I just gave over 200 bags to the local newsstand to reuse and still have thousands of bags plastic ones and brown paper grocery bags and paper shopping bags. What do I do with them? I also have clean metal coffee cans with plastic lids (maybe 100) and clean glass jars : what do I do with them? I have recycled some of them but they are pushing me out of my house. I do buy my milk in glass bottles
Linda
Oak Park, Illinois (WeehawkenLinda@aol.com)
Hi Linda,
Thanks for the letter. Bravo on your efforts to use a canvas bag and get milk in bottles--it's not always easy and I'm thrilled to hear of your efforts. As for the difficult bind you're in, let me tell you: I hear your pain! Whew! I don't have any surefire solution, but here are some ideas:
- Bags
- Paper bags might be something that an elementary school, daycare center or community craft center might be able to use for kids arts and crafts projects.
Plastic grocery bags are now recycled by many grocery stores, and you could try that. Recycling's better than nothing, even though it's not the ideal first choice, since it's still an energy intensive process.
Other kinds of plastic bags... that's a bit harder, but you might have success with the following overall bag solution:
Call around to local resale shops. Many resale shops do not use fresh bags, but still need them. Bigger bags can be used to give to customers. Smaller bags, again, can be harder. Mechanical or construction resale shops might be an especially fruitful place to contact, as they often have small groups of items (like screws) that they need to keep bundled together and small bags can be perfect. I know Habitat for Humanity has opened a large number of construction resale shops around the country called "The ReStore". If there's one near you, this could be a good place to start.
School/community/church arts and crafts or day care centers may also be able to use small bags for something, so it's worth asking.
- Coffee Cans
-
These make great organizers for many people and I suspect these'll take less work to get rid of. I would ask if these could be used by those same schools and arts/crafts centers, etc. that you might call regarding the bags. Also, you could try a listing in the local paper's classifieds, suggest them as garage/workshop/kitchen organizers and you might get a good response. The fact that you have so many might make it especially fruitful or appealing to someone who wouldn't find it worth it to just get a few by saving up their own.
- Glass jars
-
Standard size quart or pint jars or jelly jars are all of great use to anyone who does canning. You might want to consider trying to can things yourself--it's a great way to double your support of local farmers in season and get good yummies in the winter without having to have them shipped in from afar. Throwing a party with friends on a Saturday and doing large batches at once is a particularly efficient and fun way to go. But if this isn't your cup of tea, again a classified in the local paper might yield good results from local canners (especially at this time of year, being harvest time and before the Christmas holidays).
More odd sized jars can be more difficult, though it never hurts to ask around as you try to get rid of that other stuff. With these, also, you can always take them to a recycling center if necessary.
- And, here are some other broad suggestions:
- 1. If your town has a food co-op or health food store or other similar "eco-friendly alternative lifestyle" establishment, try posting a sign offering these items. Add creative or funny suggestions for uses to help interest people.
2. Try to find out if there's an intentional community anywhere nearby. Whether it's something listed in the FIC's Intentional Community Directory (see www.ic.org or call 660-883-5545 for more info) to a student co-op, local anarchist collective, or religious residence (like a monastery or ashram), these places are often full of people who could use some of these items or who might have good ideas for other local places to contact.
3. If you're an internet user, try posting these items as available for free on eBay or other online auctions. I'm not sure what all is out there, but I'll bet there's plenty of sites to help people find each other match up trading needs.
Okay, that's all that I can think of at the moment, but it seems like a good start. Maybe some of our March Hare readers can send more ideas on how to handle this overflow.
Email suggestions to me at jacob@ic.org.
Thanks!
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