I’ve been thinking about garbage a lot lately. It all started with a ripped pillowcase. This pillowcase was old-ish. Like maybe 15 years old. Washed so much that it was the most comfortable one ever. When it started to rip from wear, I actually darned it. I am not a darn-something-that-rips person. Anyway, once I had darned it three times, it became a dust rag. But I’m still a little sad when I use it. It’s a little like my father refusing to get a new bathrobe even though his elbows were sticking out of the material. Then finally having to throw it away.
So what will be the fate of this pillowcase-cum-dust rag?
And that thought led me to ponder what becomes of all the garbage that the estimated 7.2 billion people in the world today generate. From the suburbs of New York City, garbage floated around the city on barges for years. Gross, gross, gross. This caused an outcry in 1987 when an infamous barge floated up and down the East coast of the US from NY to Florida, raising awareness of the huge and horrible issue of what to do with the garbage generated by the New York City area. Not to mention what to do with garbage everywhere.
Back in 2006, NY City was trying to figure out how to get rid of, and hopefully recycle, the more than 12,000 tons of garbage picked up everyday.
And THAT thought made me wonder when we turned into such a throw-away society. When my family lived a couple of hours north of New York City, we lived in a more rural area on 4 acres of wooded land surrounded by, well, more wooded land. We would play “potato toss,” a loosely defined game that would include throwing not only potatoes past their prime, but carrot tops, pepper tops, sweet potato peels etc. We would throw them way into the woods below our house where they could decompose and help the soil and give us a 2 minute fun activity. We recycled everything possible but still ended up with an inordinate amount of garbage.
What did our ancestors do? I doubt that there was trash collection along the frontier in Kentucky. The winter that the Pilgrims were trying to survive in 1620 didn’t include getting rid of magazines. What did they do?
I’m guessing that my pillow case would have been turned into a kerchief, or a piece of quilting, or the threads pulled apart at the seams to make cuffs for a shirt. Or maybe, when there was just a little bit of it that was still usable, a small piece of fabric for novice seamstresses to practice on and learn the skill that would help the family. And when every possible thing was consumed, composted, or finally turned to dust, the detritus of the household would be burned behind the house.
I’m making a personal vow to use as many things in our house until they are consumed in one form or another. But what to do with old CDs and VCR tapes…..
I guess I’ll be creating more garbage.
saneteachers 
Thanks for this post and reminding us about all the garbage we create. Also, I loved seeing Tom Brokaw young again.
Happy Labor Day
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You too! It started out being a post about what did our ancestors do with their garbage. But, of course, as I write, things change. Thank you for reading it…
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It’s very hard to get around this garbage problem. I think the only way to stop generating garbage is to stop buying stuff.
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Very true.I remember my aunt keeping our old rubber rain boots, which I thought was ridiculous. Then, when she was living alone and couldn’t open a jar, she went to the basement and cut a piece of the boot to use as a jar opener. I would never think of that. My default position would be to buy a gadget.
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I think a big part of the problem is we in the West have access to an almost unlimited supply of cheap manufactured goods. You could fill a house in no time with stuff from the dollar store and Walmart.
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Man, is that true. Right after I wrote this my grandson was eating and I automatically grabbed paper towels to wash/dry his face and hands. This will really take some work retraining myself at least a little bit.
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We have A LOT of garbage! And we keep buying stuff only to be “recycled” as garbage again. But as they say, one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. 😊
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That’s very true. I was thinking about that last night as I drove past yard sales on my way home. This really started out because I was thinking about what the pioneers did with their garbage. And realized they probably didn’t have much. Little changes can make a big difference. Like using real coffee cups at work not paper or Styrofoam (the worst). And not throwing away a shirt because the lettering is a little worn. I don’t actually do that but certainly have friends that do. Thanks for reading this and commenting!
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Oh yes, Styrofoam are the worst! I’ve always enjoyed reading your stuff…was thinking a while back that I haven’t seen you post anything. 🙂
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Sabbatical lol
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And thank you!
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The majority of what we are seeing decrease
is related to location, with a shift toward
the place of the searcher.
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