OT: Looks like reality has caught up to recycling....

[gfretwell]

As I said in another note, we are driving national policy over big city problems. My landfill is about 20 miles away, near the waste to energy plant and the recycle sorting center that are in the same complex. That is why I think we are burning most of the recycle and trucking a little clean scrap away just for show. Once you pull out the metal and glass, "recycle" ends up being excellent W2E fuel, all paper and plastic. If we knew for sure that was what they were doing we could also put our waste oil in there too, motor and cooking oil. As it is my waste cooking grease and oil goes in the trash anyway. The garage up the road will take waste motor oil.

[rbowman]

He's a real dark horse but that's what I like about Andrew Yang. He's a nerd and understands where the 21st century is going. Most of the legislators have a hard enough time coping with a smart phone let alone understanding how it works.

otoh, the last time we had an engineer for a president it didn't work out well.

[rbowman]

Experts no, but a basic grasp on technology would be nice.

[rbowman]

I've wondered about that in this area. Stone Container had a linerboard plant and toward the end they were pulling in cardboard from hundreds of miles around. That was a partial replacement for the chips after most of the lumber mills closed. The mill also closed a few years back. I don't know what you do with 44,000 pounds of cardboard in Calgary now.

I'd hauled cans from LA to the Kaiser foundry in Spokane. They were another victim of energy deregulation so I don't know where cans go these days.

Batteries went to one of two plants in LA. afaik they're still in business so recycling batteries might still pay.

[rbowman]

Ace and a couple of local ranch stores still have a selection of small fasteners and so forth in trays. I seldom get into the bubble pack range. It's either onesy-twosy or a box if I'm working on a project. A lot of stuff is loose and is sold by the pound. Nothing like dumping a couple of pounds of deck screw into a paper bag...

[rbowman]

When the pulp mill was running most people around here said it smelled like money.

[rbowman]

You must have been one of those thermoplastic guys :)

[rbowman]

I'm waiting for Duterte to declare war on Canada and launch well aged dirty diapers at BC. I've read one medieval tactic when besieging a city was to use a trebuchet to deliver dead livestock. Look out Vancouver, here comes the flying garbage truck.

[gfretwell]

We used to cash in bottles when I was a kid too. We would grab them from wherever they were stacked up ;)

It was bad if you kept them inside tho because they drew bugs. Washing them out as you used them was a pain in the ass too. My family was really happy when throw away bottles showed up. If I wasn't collecting them, they usually got thrown away anyhow. One ant or roach and my mom would throw them away.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Molded foam plastic for packaging, insulated boxes ICFs. Pretty clean operation. Only outside noise was a cooling tower fan. The plants were built before the houses so they had no bitch anyway.

We had inspections from the DEP and I filed quarterly reports on emissions and had daily limits in spite of being well belows monthly limits.

[angelicapaganelli]

We occasionally drink bottled water, but we're much more likely to use a refillable. Tap water is nearly free, compared to the ridiculous price for bottled water.

Cindy Hamilton

[angelicapaganelli]

I'd settle for a working knowledge of the scientific method.

Cindy Hamilton

[trader_4]

Good thing you included that "almost" or you'd be hearing from the troll from down under, blasting you for being stupid.

[rbowman]

Did you miss the basic part? How many legislators do you think have a grasp on the problem the 737 Max software was trying to solve and why it went wrong? Other than Carter, how many have a grasp on how a nuclear reactor works and the benefits and drawbacks? How many have any knowledge of biology or ecology when they legislate? Do they understand the population dynamics of endangered species? Can any make a coherent argument on climate change? Assuming economics is more a science than witchcraft, how many have more than a grade school level knowledge.

When they legislate renewable power regulations, can they analyze the overall impact? Do they know anything about using ethanol for fuel and its repercussions? Other than subsidies enrich their backers?

Just what the hell does Maxine Waters know?

[rbowman]

I briefly worked for Sweetheart when they were making the clamshells for McBurgers as well as foam picnic plates. It was more pleasant than the melamine dinnerware plant I helped set up for Fingerhut. Of course, there were the rail tankers full of freon for the blowing agent. We won't talk about those.

The best part of the job didn't have anything to do with plastics. They also had lines that made their original product -- ice cream cones. Sugar cones hot off the line aren't bad.

[gfretwell]

My well water really sucks, hence I do use a lot of bottled water. The city water isn't much better, just full of chlorine.

[angelicapaganelli]

I'm on Detroit water, which is what I grew up on. I've spent most of my life drinking from downriver of Sarnia, ON. Hasn't killed me yet.

Cindy Hamilton

[invalid unparseable]

Water from my new well, detailed here earlier in the year, is not as good as the old well 50 ft away. I drink it but wife won't. Years ago my father would come here to get water when their water got heavily chlorinated.

[Molly Brown]

It’s long past the time to go back to reusable glass bottles. I never liked plastic bottles anyway. I never understood why everyone started to use plastic. It was a stupid thing to do then and is even more stupid now.

[trader_4]

Convenience, cost and weight obviously, probably sanitation concerns, real or imaginary too.