Tired of people who are environment' irresponsible

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
To confirm the decline of American common sense , just look at what people drive [compared to the rest of the world].

If you have a living room, why buy one to drive??


Bingo. No reason to have a rolling living room for 1 yuppie and their Starmcdonking "food/drink". A rolling sofa will do the job with just as many cupholders for the driver, and a smaller carbon footprint in its lifecycle.

As my generation replaces its first cars with newer ones, at least among my acquaintances the trend is away from the big minivans and SUV's our parents carted us around in. Of the 4-5 people who got new vehicles in the past year, all of those have been midsize or smaller cars.

 

[SS1970chrysler]

My 1970 Chrysler Newport has smaller cars orbiting around it, seemingly caught in its' gravitational pull.

 

[andrewg]

You say your roommate is one of the "biggest wasters I have ever seen". From the detailed description you gave I would say that he really doesn't sound all that bad. He's certainly not harming the environment to the point of being irresponsible in my opinion. If you really have issues with the guy perhaps you should either move out or find another person to live with. Some folks are real thrifty (you) while others are less inclined (the roommate). Throwing the exaggerated label of 'environmentally irresponsible' into the discussion is a bit of a stretch. Ever see the inside of one of the thousands of factories and/or manufacturing plants, warehouses, or even a large shopping mall? Can you even begin to grasp the HUGE amounts of electricity and resources consumed in such places? Waste is rampant, power usage is phenomenal, and countless resources are wasted in a grand scale.....yet you are concerned about your roommate leaving a light on? Yes, I know what's next.....'but if we ALL were more conscious of our resource use in the home, the planet would be better off'....etc. Actually it wouldn't amount to a hill of beans.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: SS1970chrysler
My 1970 Chrysler Newport has smaller cars orbiting around it, seemingly caught in its' gravitational pull.


It's still environmentally responsible to drive it since the energy used to make it has already been spent. Driving an old car that gets decent fuel economy is greener than driving a brand-new car that gets exceptional economy.

 

[SS1970chrysler]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Originally Posted By: SS1970chrysler
My 1970 Chrysler Newport has smaller cars orbiting around it, seemingly caught in its' gravitational pull.


It's still environmentally responsible to drive it since the energy used to make it has already been spent. Driving an old car that gets decent fuel economy is greener than driving a brand-new car that gets exceptional economy.

That's why I run a '78 Granada for my work commute, about 20k per year.

I'm shift leader at a recycled paperboard plant and got transferred to much further away location than the Chrysler is practical for.

 

[kender]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
To confirm the decline of American common sense , just look at what people drive [compared to the rest of the world].

If you have a living room, why buy one to drive??



+1!!!

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
To confirm the decline of American common sense , just look at what people drive [compared to the rest of the world].

If you have a living room, why buy one to drive??

Because they may have a large family. Or, because they find a larger vehicle gives them comfort, security, or maybe even utility. Who knows. But why does it matter? I don't think it takes much common sense to drive a Civic or a Focus (I do) if you have three kids, a dog, and like to take family road trips. A single person or married without children? Perhaps....but once again, it doesn't have any validity to go around questioning folks that aren't breaking the law.
Just my opinion....no insult intended.

 

[crinkles]

I'm tired of being forced to change my behaviour, and not being in a position to, and benig realtively responsible to start with.

 

[buickman50401]

I refuse to recycle (other than can's/bottles since I get my deposit back on them). Here's why.

In my city, you get 1 garbage bag per week. Beyond that you have to buy stickers at $1 a pop to put on any bags over the 1 "free" (not free, paid for by your water/sewer rates). The city provides two recycling tubs for curbside pickup (each 24x24x18").

However, its a [censored] shoot what might get picked up for recycling on any given garbage day. There are so many restrictions on what can be recycled and how that its ridiculous. The most glaringly stupid is that they won't recycle empty steel food cans.

Cardboard and paperboard:
It has to be "bundled" with twine. Why? I have two containers. Designate one for paper products and the other plastics. But noooo. If my pizza boxes, ceral boxes, and general cardboard are not just broken down/flattened but also not bound in twine they won't pick it up. Ever taken the time to try to bundle a stack of this stuff that isn't uniform in size? [censored] falls out of the stack or the twine slips off. If you do manage to get it in a bundle and the recycling truck comes by to pick it up they won't take it if the bundle falls apart as they're tossing it in the truck. Also the twine has to be of a specific type. Cotton cloth twine or other natural fibers. If its nylon they aren't touching it.

Plastic containers:
Besides the general rule of thumb that it must be of a certain type designated by the # stamped on the container, it also has to have all the labels removed. If there's even a bit of label left where the glue has held it on tight its getting left in your bin. You can forget about recycling larger containers with permanent labels such as cat litter tubs since those labels are either printed right on the container or impossible to remove.

Glass:
Clear glass only. No label. If it is brown or colored glass (wine bottles for example) forget it, and I go through a lot of wine in a month.

So basically it comes down to the recycling program consisting of the city picking up neat little stacks of paper/cardboard and clear plastic or glass containers with no traces of the labels left. Have one thing in your bin not to the liking of the crew and your bin is going to be left on the curb untouched and its a [censored] shoot as what might have been picked up one week won't be touched the next. Complaints get you nowhere and you're given the boilerplate: "Well obviously you had something that wasn't allowed...". Sure I did. That's why when I put the same bin out the next week with the exact same stuff in it, it was picked up the second time right?

So, all of my refuse goes in the trash. I pay an extra $1/wk to toss out another bag of trash that I would have otherwise recycled because I'm not spending my time trying to scour all traces of the labels from containers, attempting to tie scraps of cardboard into a bundle or playing the guessing game of what kind of plastics will they decide to pick up this week.

 

[MetalSlug]

both you boys need get a divorse lol,

if you guy want live together as a room mate, need accept what ever other doing, or speak about it together.

I live with a room mate one. as long he come up with half of the bill each month, that all I ever care. I move out after he got my car key and made a copy, on the weekent when I sleep, he take my car out for take his lady out, some how my gf heard some one say that Im out with some one else, she mad and broke up with me, that when I found out what my room mate did. I move out right away. Here the tips dont be too friendly with your room mate, cause some time they can take adventage of you.

 

[javacontour]

Yeah, I woke up after being out from about 3:30AM until 3:30 pm on service calls. (I'm at another customer site waiting for the service window now.)

I got up a 9:30pm, almost every light was on in the house. I was awakened by a text from my 17yo step daughter saying she was going out for ice cream.

Front door unlocked and all the lights on, upstairs and down.

At least she rode with someone else, her car was in the garage. But then she has to buy gas. She doesn't pay the electric bill.

 

[Popinski]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
You say your roommate is one of the "biggest wasters I have ever seen". From the detailed description you gave I would say that he really doesn't sound all that bad. He's certainly not harming the environment to the point of being irresponsible in my opinion. If you really have issues with the guy perhaps you should either move out or find another person to live with. Some folks are real thrifty (you) while others are less inclined (the roommate). Throwing the exaggerated label of 'environmentally irresponsible' into the discussion is a bit of a stretch. Ever see the inside of one of the thousands of factories and/or manufacturing plants, warehouses, or even a large shopping mall? Can you even begin to grasp the HUGE amounts of electricity and resources consumed in such places? Waste is rampant, power usage is phenomenal, and countless resources are wasted in a grand scale.....yet you are concerned about your roommate leaving a light on? Yes, I know what's next.....'but if we ALL were more conscious of our resource use in the home, the planet would be better off'....etc. Actually it wouldn't amount to a hill of beans.


You have failed at common sense and VERY BASIC responsibility. Let me guess, you throw litter out of your window when there's a trash can 5 feet away? Yes, I am thrifty, but my compliant that was noted on my first post was failure of acknowledging common sense and very very very very basic responsibility.

 

[javacontour]

I suspect if things get bad, we'll start mining landfills.

In WWII, they had scrap drives and what not. If it becomes economically feasible, or necessary, we'll mine the landfills like we mine the earth for stuff.

I recycle. I recycled three cat litter buckets and use one for aluminum cans, one for #1 or #2 plastic, and one for bottles. I take them when I'm running near the recycling place.

They hire some folks who might not otherwise work, so it helps out some folks who could use a break. They've cut down on the plastic, they once took it all. They are back to taking only #1 and #2 plastic now. That covers probably 80-90% of the plastic we get.

 

[Popinski]

Oh yeah, I must add something.

His family grew up using the dish washing machine, which in my opinion, is the most inefficient machine ever. It's just the two of us and he won't wash the dishes unless the dishwasher is packed full. Instead, I literally take 3 minutes of my time daily, put the water on lukewarm, soap up, and wash the dishes by hand.

 

[crinkles]

yeah my wife has changed back to doing hand washing.

they say dishwashers can use less water than doing dishes by hand. power wise, not so sure.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: buickman50401
I refuse to recycle (other than can's/bottles since I get my deposit back on them). Here's why.

In my city, you get 1 garbage bag per week. Beyond that you have to buy stickers at $1 a pop to put on any bags over the 1 "free" (not free, paid for by your water/sewer rates). The city provides two recycling tubs for curbside pickup (each 24x24x18").

However, its a [censored] shoot what might get picked up for recycling on any given garbage day. There are so many restrictions on what can be recycled and how that its ridiculous. The most glaringly stupid is that they won't recycle empty steel food cans.

Cardboard and paperboard:
It has to be "bundled" with twine. Why? I have two containers. Designate one for paper products and the other plastics. But noooo. If my pizza boxes, ceral boxes, and general cardboard are not just broken down/flattened but also not bound in twine they won't pick it up. Ever taken the time to try to bundle a stack of this stuff that isn't uniform in size? [censored] falls out of the stack or the twine slips off. If you do manage to get it in a bundle and the recycling truck comes by to pick it up they won't take it if the bundle falls apart as they're tossing it in the truck. Also the twine has to be of a specific type. Cotton cloth twine or other natural fibers. If its nylon they aren't touching it.

Plastic containers:
Besides the general rule of thumb that it must be of a certain type designated by the # stamped on the container, it also has to have all the labels removed. If there's even a bit of label left where the glue has held it on tight its getting left in your bin. You can forget about recycling larger containers with permanent labels such as cat litter tubs since those labels are either printed right on the container or impossible to remove.

Glass:
Clear glass only. No label. If it is brown or colored glass (wine bottles for example) forget it, and I go through a lot of wine in a month.

So basically it comes down to the recycling program consisting of the city picking up neat little stacks of paper/cardboard and clear plastic or glass containers with no traces of the labels left. Have one thing in your bin not to the liking of the crew and your bin is going to be left on the curb untouched and its a [censored] shoot as what might have been picked up one week won't be touched the next. Complaints get you nowhere and you're given the boilerplate: "Well obviously you had something that wasn't allowed...". Sure I did. That's why when I put the same bin out the next week with the exact same stuff in it, it was picked up the second time right?

So, all of my refuse goes in the trash. I pay an extra $1/wk to toss out another bag of trash that I would have otherwise recycled because I'm not spending my time trying to scour all traces of the labels from containers, attempting to tie scraps of cardboard into a bundle or playing the guessing game of what kind of plastics will they decide to pick up this week.


Your garbage company should be fired for this kind of recycling policy. We had these kind of ridiculous rule 15 years ago and now they tell you to throw everything in the same bin and they will sort it in the facility to deter theft stealing the valuable drinks containers (5c each, supposedly) and aluminum.

 

[buickman50401]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear

Your garbage company should be fired for this kind of recycling policy. We had these kind of ridiculous rule 15 years ago and now they tell you to throw everything in the same bin and they will sort it in the facility to deter theft stealing the valuable drinks containers (5c each, supposedly) and aluminum.

Can't fire the city.

Previous city I lived in allowed 4 bags per week of trash. You couldn't put out more than 4 but you didn't have to put tags on them either.

They had a recycling program as well and it was a toss it all in and we'll sort it later type of thing like you describe. The only thing that would get your bin left on the curb untouched was if there was clearly something not recyclable in it and even in those instances, they'd usually toss the offending item on the right of way and still take whatever else was in the bin.

I never put out more than 2 bags when living there and usually just one since its recycling program was reasonable.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: Popinski
Originally Posted By: andrewg
You say your roommate is one of the "biggest wasters I have ever seen". From the detailed description you gave I would say that he really doesn't sound all that bad. He's certainly not harming the environment to the point of being irresponsible in my opinion. If you really have issues with the guy perhaps you should either move out or find another person to live with. Some folks are real thrifty (you) while others are less inclined (the roommate). Throwing the exaggerated label of 'environmentally irresponsible' into the discussion is a bit of a stretch. Ever see the inside of one of the thousands of factories and/or manufacturing plants, warehouses, or even a large shopping mall? Can you even begin to grasp the HUGE amounts of electricity and resources consumed in such places? Waste is rampant, power usage is phenomenal, and countless resources are wasted in a grand scale.....yet you are concerned about your roommate leaving a light on? Yes, I know what's next.....'but if we ALL were more conscious of our resource use in the home, the planet would be better off'....etc. Actually it wouldn't amount to a hill of beans.


You have failed at common sense and VERY BASIC responsibility. Let me guess, you throw litter out of your window when there's a trash can 5 feet away? Yes, I am thrifty, but my compliant that was noted on my first post was failure of acknowledging common sense and very very very very basic responsibility.


On the contrary my friend,I expressed my opinion and you disagree. You also missed the point of my ENTIRE post. No big....you'd rather say I throw litter out of my window (where in blazes you got that idea from is beyond me).
I suggest you get some counseling on how to deal with other people that you can't control. Worrying about a roommate that isn't as cheap as you is a waste of time. You've got the 'guts' to express your opinion rather pointedly toward me (on a forum no less), perhaps you should muster up some courage to speak to him in person? Just an idea chief.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: Popinski
Oh yeah, I must add something.

His family grew up using the dish washing machine, which in my opinion, is the most inefficient machine ever. It's just the two of us and he won't wash the dishes unless the dishwasher is packed full. Instead, I literally take 3 minutes of my time daily, put the water on lukewarm, soap up, and wash the dishes by hand.

Wow....what a horribly irresponsible family he had. How could a parent teach a child such an environmentally destructive appliance as a....gulp.....DISHWASHER!!!!

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: sciphi

As my generation replaces its first cars with newer ones, at least among my acquaintances the trend is away from the big minivans and SUV's our parents carted us around in. Of the 4-5 people who got new vehicles in the past year, all of those have been midsize or smaller cars.


Wait until the generation has kids... Friends are going through that now. A child seat, stroller and pack and play means that a fairly sizable car like a CRV is effectively a three-person car. Forget adults using the backseat to carpool anymore.

Small cars are great, but kids seem to destroy the practicalityif you're going anywhere by car... And so folks need bigger ones like usual.

Let's not forget how disgustingly obese everyone (including young kids) is.