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.
