Repair, re-use, recycle, repurpose

Four words that represent a sustainable life.  

Repair

My first impulse when anything breaks is to see if I can repair it.  I have enough skills to repair anything made of wood, metal, plastic and electronics.  Sometimes a bit of duct tape will work, and others require glue, soldering electronics, or making a replacement part.  

Recently a battery powered thermometer stopped working.  Inside the battery compartment I found the alkaline battery had corroded the springs as often happens and there is that classic powdery green corrosion.  A simple fix is to use a Q-tip soaked in white vinegar to clean off the corrosion, then wipe it down with a little scotch bright and finally dab it with a paper towel soaked in WD-40.  I threw away the dead alkaline battery that was long past its prime, but if it used a rechargeable battery I would have recycled it by dropping it off in a blue bin at the Lowe's product return department.  They also accept old CFL lamps that contain mercury.

Reuse

If there are items that I don't need I will turn them into Goodwill to be reused.  or, I might offer something to a friend who can use it such as a light fixture.  Other items that I don't need I donate to the ReStore such as building materials.  An absolute last resort is to put something in the trash.  

Recycle

Like many people I recycle everything I can, and usually put out far more recycling than I do trash.  In a recent post I talked about how I  ride around my neighborhood on my E bike with large panniers on the back to pick up trash and redeemable cans and bottles.   In the last 12 months I have redeemed over 3000 containers using the Clynk redemption centers at local supermarkets here in Maine - that's over $150 earned!  

 

The the items I cannot redeem are put in my recycling bin, and the trash that is mostly fast food packaging goes in my trash, but some of the paper materials I can recycle.  I keep a 50 gallon bin in my laundry room that is close to the kitchen so it's very easy to put kitchen recyclables in there easily.  And I recycle a lot of corrugated boxes from shipments that I receive.  Mixed stream recycling is picked up every two weeks and I usually fill it to the top.  

Used rechargeable batteries and electronic products such as cell phones and toys that contain rechargeable batteries can be returned to any call2recycle location, here's a link to find a location near you. 

Repurpose

Often when something breaks, I will see if I can take it apart and reuse some of the materials.  If there is wood involved, then I can cut it up and use it for firewood in my woodstoves for instance.  I also save all my newspapers to use as kindling.

I teach wood bowl making classes, and each bowl produces several gallons of shavings.  I use these shavings for garden mulch, cat litter, and kindling.

Every year or so I review all my old gallon cans of household paint to see if they  still have liquid paint in them and if I don't need them I can drop them off at my nearest hardware store where the paint is reused.  Dry and congealed paint cannot be returned, so I leave it out in the open until it is fully dried and then put it in the trash.  Maine is the eighth state in the US that has a Paint Care program for repurposing old architectural paint, here's a link to that program sponsored by the natural resources Council of Maine.  

My absolute last resort is to put something in the trash and it typically takes me weeks to fill a 30 gallon trash bin.  I'm sure there are many other things that I do that I have forgotten to mention, so drop me a line if you have other suggestions.

Zero waste compostable garbage bags

It has always bothered me when I throw garbage bags into my trash bin because I know that plastic will last for decades in the landfill or elsewhere.  So I was delightfully surprised to learn about hold on bags that are made from plant-based materials that are non-toxic and biodegradable without leaving any toxic residue.

Apparently they called the company HoldOn because there was a moment when they came up with the idea and went "hold on", there's a better way to do this.

I am using all three sizes:

4 Gallon Trash Bags: Our 17” x 18” small kitchen bags

 

13 Gallon Compostable Trash Bags

 

Compostable zip-seal Snack Bags 

(as an Amazon associate, I earn a small commission from sales of these products)

I am really pleased with these bags, they are strong and sturdy and hold up to normal use very well.  I really wish more products were made to be fully compostable like this, we would leave the world a better place for future generations.

My solar powered lifestyle

I am a DIY guy so I tend to do everything myself.  Pictured above left is my grid tied solar array consisting of 40 solar panels that I have installed with the help of friends over the years.  There is a very detailed blog on my website covering the design and installation of this system.  In peak sun it produces over 6 kW and surplus power goes back into the grid where I get a credit for every kilowatt hour exported thanks to net metering.  This allows me to be largely carbon neutral from April through November.  A few years ago I self-installed heat pumps in both my workshop building (pictured) and my home (here's a video about that).  I am located in Maine at the 44th parallel so in the winter, I have less solar and a higher demand for electricity to run the heat pumps, so for a few months I pay a substantial electric bill to run my heat pumps when the average temperature stays below freezing in the winter. (You can see detailed stats of my solar energy system power here).  The utility power is sourced from more than 60% renewable including hydropower, wind, and other renewables.  I believe Maine has the highest utility supplied renewable energy offering in the US.

Pictured in the photo above are also the following items:

2017 Chevy Volt.  This is my second Volt and it is an amazing car that is the fastest and sexiest vehicle I have ever owned.  With over 50,000 miles on it I still get a thrill driving it knowing that it is fully carbon neutral and I even put vanity plates on it that say: SUN PWRD.

 

Aventon Level.2 E bike.  This is my second E bike and it has an impressive 60 mile range with pedal assist and somewhat less than that if I were to use it in throttle only mode (riding it like a motorcycle without pedaling).  It is capable of level III, meaning that pedal assist can take me up to 28 mph easily.  (Level II goes up to 20 mph).  Despite all the electric assist, I get a lot of good exercise riding an average of 10 miles a day in good weather.  And as you can see in my previous post I have large panniers on the back that I use for picking up garbage and redeemable bottles and cans around my neighborhood.

Green Works self-propelled 80V cordless lawnmower.  This mower is an absolute beast and chews through tall grass with no problem at all.  I really like the self-propelled feature in the summer when it's unpleasantly hot and humid.  My lawn areas are relatively modest, just to keep a setback around the building and open areas around my garden beds, and fruit trees and this mower can cover the whole area on a single charge of the two 80 V 4AH batteries.

Black & Decker cordless 20V string trimmer.  This is a surprisingly powerful machine that chews through tall weeds with abandon.

Black & Decker 20V cordless hedge trimmer.  I refer to this as my "light saber" because it will cut anything up to half inch branches with ease.

Redeeming cans and bottles for fun/the environment/exercise/profit

My e-bike with panniers

I purchased my first E bike over a year ago and put over 1000 miles on it in the first year.  Prior to that I used to walk around my neighborhood with my friend to get exercise and we would also take a garbage bag and pick up trash and recyclables and redeemable bottles and cans.  After we both got E-bikes, I installed large panniers on my bike so I can carry more than two grocery bags full of trash.   

 

Partial screenshot from the Clynk app

In the last seven months, I have redeemed over 1700 containers.  It is shocking how many beer cans and bottles and miniature liquor bottles I pick up every week.  Apparently there are dozens of people who drink and drive and then throw these containers out of their vehicles onto the side of the road.😲 I cover a range that encompasses roughly a 3 mile radius from my rural home here in Maine which is all two-lane blacktops. 

The redemption system here in Maine pays $0.05 per container redeemed and $0.15 for vodka and wine bottles.  I signed up with a system known as Clynk that makes redeeming these containers easy.  You just put them in their special biodegradable bag with a barcode and drop them off.  They process them in the next few days and then give me a credit that I can pick up at the grocery store as cash.

This is a typical catch from a 10 mile bike ride

When I get home, I separate out the trash, recyclables, and redeemables.  There are many containers that I cannot redeem because they've been crushed on the road, I also clean up dirty cans and bottles before redeeming them, many of the beer cans are filled with dead slugs which is really gross.  There are also a lot of fast food containers and other general trash that I pick up.

Shown above is just the separated out redeemables.  There is a surprising number of miniature liquor bottles.  The state of Maine only recently enacted a law requiring $0.05 per miniature bottle, previously they were not counted as redeemable materials.  This does not seem to have diminished the use of these bottles much.

I enjoy getting the exercise and cleaning up my neighborhood - it's like a treasure hunt for me - looking for shiny objects along the road.  I call this my "get rich slow scheme" since I make around $100 per year, but it's not about the money for me.  I just use some of it to buy candy or lottery tickets.

I encourage those of you who might live in areas where you find a lot of trash along the roadside to walk with a garbage bag and pick it up.  Even if  your state doesn't have a redemption system, much of the trash I find can be recycled.  I feel strongly that it takes all of us working together as a community to improve the planet.