Folk are soooo wasteful

nearlyrich

Even in the age of freecycle it's hard to get people to take some stuff, I have experience of getting rid of furniture and no one is interested. I hate throwing stuff away, my mum is the world's greatest hoarder and I think it's genetic but sometimes you just have too much stuff and it has to go.

Don't get me started on my OH and his garage where you can just about park a very slim pushbike.

Sarahsaver

Even with freecycle I have had people say 'can you bring it to me', and some items I have offered twice with no luck.
Many people want everything new new new but I don't understand it because its mostly laminated flat pack mass produced cack. When I was a teacher I got my first wage and bought a solid pine table - will have it forever. Same as the dresser I bought. Solid pine, handmade, but I won't need another one EVER. That's how I was brought up. Mum still has all the furniture she had when I was a child. I want something to leave my children when I shuffle off!

Bargain_Rzl

kiwichick wrote:

I nearly died of shock and asked him why he wasnt giving it to a shelter or similar and he told me that he would love to but legally they cant. He said that no business in Lakeside can do it in case someone gets ill from old food ... Absolutely flippin bonkers IMHO, I can understand things like the mayonaise fillings but sure plain bagels and doughnuts are fine!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I'm sure Pret a Manger has a policy of giving away unsold sandwiches to the homeless at close of business each day

freyaluck

my sister in law is the worst person I know for throwing out useful,expensive unused stuff and whinges about having no money. Now every time she has a clearout we go and pick up her junk, that she would happily chuck in the bin.
Last week we went up their and came back with 2 huge bin bags of clothes 80% still had the tags on and wernt cheap either, all of it was desighner or labelled,:eek: :eek: :eek: unfortunately shes skinnier than me otherwise I would probably wear the lot lol.
plus 3 big boxes of bits, ranging from boxed film character dolls, will be worth a fair bit in a few years, to dvds that were bought only a couple of weeks ago and watched once:eek: I don't think shes heared of blockbusters:rolleyes: .
I was most shocked about 6 weeks ago when we all went up north, we popped into a town on the way back and instead of getting her jumper out of her suitcae, too much hassle apparently she went and bought a new one:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :eek: :eek: :eek: I really don't know how she does it.

catkins

I think we do live in a throwaway society. My parents in law are always buying new furniture, fridge etc just because they want to. They take the old ones to the tip. Their daughter buys clothes which she never wears and then either throws them away or sometimes gives them to me.

I would only get a new fridge, cooker or whatever when the old one packed up completely. Even then I might not buy new. A lot of things in my house are secondhand, either bought or from Freecycle (which I think is brilliant). It's not particularly that I can't afford to buy new, although I do not have a lot of money, it's more that I cannot justify say for example paying at least £1,000 for two leather settees when I got them secondhand for £400. They were only a couple of months old and had cost the woman £1,600!!.

Also when I moved to the house I am in now the previous tenant had left quite a lot of things behind. Any that were useful I kept but the baby things I gave away. She left a pram which was immaculate but I couldn't find a charity shop that would take it as they said they did not have room for it and no-one on Freecycle wanted it. Such a shame.

Austin_Allegro

I do think it's sad that many people now view wastefulness as a way of proving they are well off. In the old days, thrift was seen as an integral part of being 'respectable'!

That said, I've moved a few times but never found anything decent left behind. One thing that annoyed me was a couple in a flat who left an entire cupboard full of old bottles and jars behind. Presumably they felt very good about 'recycling' all that stuff - but just left it for someone else to do!

MORPH3US

The problem with freecycle and dontdumpthat and the like, is the sort of people who bin all the good stuff are the sort of people who will never use them because they are either too lazy or ....... or I don't know what.

Its like David Beckham never wearing a pair of trainers more than once! What the hell.... ok he said that he gives them away to friends and family but even if he didn't, I could never imagine him freecycling his old fridge and cooker.

Whereas people like you and me that would give and take from freecycle, are the same people who would keep a tv / fridge / cooker until it had been used to within the last inch of its life!!

M

Austin_Allegro

MORPH3US wrote:

The problem with freecycle and dontdumpthat and the like, is the sort of people who bin all the good stuff are the sort of people who will never use them because they are either too lazy or ....... or I don't know what.

Its like David Beckham never wearing a pair of trainers more than once! What the hell.... ok he said that he gives them away to friends and family but even if he didn't, I could never imagine him freecycling his old fridge and cooker.

M

Yes I think this is what annoys me. I don't mind so much people being wasteful if other people can benefit from it - this was always the case with the rich in the old days, who handed on clothes to servants etc - it's the way that modern spendthrifts seem to discourage anyone else from benefitting from their waste!

lynzpower

Bargain_Rzl wrote:

I'm sure Pret a Manger has a policy of giving away unsold sandwiches to the homeless at close of business each day

Completely correct https://www.fareshare.org.uk

waterlilyann

kiwichick wrote:

I don't understand the way food is thrown out. Especially by companies/business's who could use it to benefit others.eg.the homelss shelters/womens refuge etc etc.

I questiones the manager of a doughnut and bagel shop in Lakeside late one evening, it closes at 10pm then so that kind of time. He was standing in front of the stands throwing all the unsold food in the bin! I nearly died of shock and asked him why he wasnt giving it to a shelter or similar and he told me that he would love to but legally they cant. He said that no business in Lakeside can do it in case someone gets ill from old food.

Absolutely flippin bonkers IMHO, I can understand things like the mayonaise fillings but sure plain bagels and doughnuts are fine!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Is it the same with all business's?? Does that mean we cant donate food to such places if it isnt packaged/tinned?

I used to work in Boots as a student and was horrified at the amount of sandwiches and perfectly good food that was being thrown away (couple of bin bags full every couple of days :eek: ). I spoke to my boss and got the whole "...but if they get poorly from eating it..." nonesense and told him so and that charities would be grateful for all this food. So from then on we had a local charity come whenever we were planning on throwing a bagful away, with a use by of the same day, on the understanding that they had to eat it that day! They couldn't have been more grateful.:T
It made me so mad to think how much food that was still in date had been thrown away before I'd said anything.