Tag: garbage

Posted in Life

A lot of money for a little bit of trash

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Hey, if you’re going to Walmart, we need a trash can for the back bedroom.”

“Got it. See you soon.”

The back bedroom is now a scrapbooking, 3D and edible ink printing, and cookie packaging room. I’m constantly carting out paper trimmings, sticker backing, and leftover 3D printing scraps. A trash can back there will be a welcome addition to the room.

At Walmart, I pushed my shopping cart towards the “Home” aisles, where I was sure I’d find a not-too-ugly container. I was right. I had a whole aisle full of them to choose from.

But I was not prepared for the cost of a simple can. The first few metal cans I looked at, with a foot pedal to open the lid, were $49.95. That’s crazy. There must be something cheaper. Right next to them were some that would set me back $80. But they were equipped with a motion sensor, so that the can would open anytime you passed by.

I was ready to give up and go get the rest of my list. But at the other end of the aisle, there were a few $24.95 models. Rather than metal, it was a metallic-looking plastic. It felt flimsy, but I wasn’t going to use it that much, so I went ahead and bought one.

What did I expect? I guess I was hoping to get a basic container for under twenty bucks. Unfortunately, few things I but for around the house cost less than $20!

Ironically, my son had ordered one of those deluxe motion-sensor cans for his kitchen just a month ago. In haste, he had Amazon deliver it to our home rather than his, so I had to return it for him. At his home, the can would get a lot of use, so the investment made sense for him.

Posted in trash

A sofa-eating truck

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some folks up the street just moved out of their rental house. They left sofas, mattresses, shelves, and all kinds of trash on the curb in their wake. When I walked by, I thought to myself, “There’s no way the trash guys are going to take all that away.”

I was wrong. I was very wrong.

The big dog and I walked towards that house as the trash collectors approached. I watched with fascination as they fed two full-length sofas, three chairs, two mattresses, and a host of other trash into the back of the truck. The truck ate the furniture before my eyes. In minutes, it was all gone, and the truck rumbled off to the next stop.

I will always be amazed at the things we throw away. From sofas to dishwashers, all those things we work so hard to purchase end up crushed in the back of a truck.

That moment gave me, and should give you, perspective.

Posted in trash

That’s no lady, just a dress form

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The big dog and I see a lot of interesting things on our walks. Late Thursday night, we passed by a home that has recently had interesting items on the curb for trash pickup.

I almost didn’t notice it. But my dog stopped to sniff something we don’t see everyday: a dress form. I chuckled and took a picture. I haven’t seen one of those for a long time.

My mom actually had one. She did a lot of sewing at home. I remember her laying paper patterns out on the floor and pinning fabric to them. She made a lot of clothes for herself and my sister. Apparently, dresses were easy; men’s clothes were more difficult. When she died, we found a whole dresser in the basement full of paper patterns she had used and saved over the years.

Anyway, on Friday morning, my wife texted me, “There’s a dress form out for the trash. Can you go get it?” She wanted to use it to display some clothes she wanted to sell online. So, we (the big dog and I) walked up the street and grabbed it. It was surprisingly light, not more than a few pounds.

Everytime I walked through the garage on Friday and Saturday, I was startled by what looked like a person standing there! It was spooky until I moved it into one of the bedrooms.

A few nights before I picked up a guitar from their trash. It wasn’t a quality guitar. Just a cheap one made in China you might find in Walmart. But it was in nearly new condition except for a broken string. I might restring it and give it away or donate it to Goodwill. Or I could teach a grandchild to play.

Today, I saw the U-Haul van in their driveway. The family is moving out of the rental. These are the same folks who have a living room lamp on their front porch, Christmas lights in the shape of a heart in the front window, and five or six free shopping newspapers in their driveway.

I wonder who we’ll get next in the neighborhood?

Posted in Life, trash

Trash talk

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The wide variety of trash and recycling out on the curb this morning impressed the big dog and me on our walk. We saw massive piles of trash in front of some homes and just a small bag in front of others.

A family a few houses up the street only ever puts out a recycling bin. They rarely put out a container of trash. How do they do that? They are a family of four, and they hardly throw out anything.

On the other hand, the folks a few houses in the other direction put out multiple overflowing trashcans, along with a stack of trash bags, a pile of boxes, and an overflowing recycling bin. Not just once a week, but two times a week! For a two-person household.

On any given trash collection day, I will see at least three mattresses, two vacuum cleaners, either a dishwasher or a refrigerator, lots and lots of pizza boxes, and a recliner.

I love to see how some organize their recycling bin, with all the cardboard folded to one side and cans and bottles lined up on the other. Picture perfect. I break down all my boxes to get as many in as possible. Most people just pile up all the Amazon boxes any which way.

Some (like me) have all the trash tied up in bags in a lidded container. Others just throw whatever in the can and drag it out Tuesday morning.

So much trash. For all our efforts at recycling, I believe we only have more to throw away. I don’t even know where they put it all.

I’ll add to the pile this Friday. A new range arrives on Thursday, so the recently deceased old one will be on the curb Thursday night. Maybe someone will come by and take it for repair or scrap. Maybe not.