Hugh's War on Waste

thriftwizard

I visit our local Tip a couple of times a week (to see if they've had anything interesting in in the vintage fabric line) and you'd be horrified to see what goes into the textile bins - and some people just throw it straight into the landfill - brand new clothing with tags still attached, by the bin-bag!

I do know one of the contributors to this terrible waste; she's a pressurised self-made businesswoman who shops when she's away on business trips to relieve stress, then every 6 months or so she "de-clutters" and takes bags & bags of brand-new, high-end stuff to the Tip. She'd say she hasn't time to sort it out & take stuff to charity shops, and that they bin 90% of what they're given anyway if it's out of season; she's not far wrong there, either, in our area, although of course most of it isn't binned but sold to the rag-man.

It seems like the most appalling waste to me, but she's said before, I can afford it, it's my money, it makes me feel good, what's the problem?

VfM4meplse

thriftwizard wrote: »

I do know one of the contributors to this terrible waste; she's a pressurised self-made businesswoman who shops when she's away on business trips to relieve stress, then every 6 months or so she "de-clutters" and takes bags & bags of brand-new, high-end stuff to the Tip. She'd say she hasn't time to sort it out & take stuff to charity shops, and that they bin 90% of what they're given anyway if it's out of season; she's not far wrong there, either, in our area, although of course most of it isn't binned but sold to the rag-man.

Can I have her phone number please?

I would be happy to sort it out for her, in the interest of stress relief, of course

Pollycat

thriftwizard wrote: »

I do know one of the contributors to this terrible waste; she's a pressurised self-made businesswoman who shops when she's away on business trips to relieve stress, then every 6 months or so she "de-clutters" and takes bags & bags of brand-new, high-end stuff to the Tip. She'd say she hasn't time to sort it out & take stuff to charity shops, and that they bin 90% of what they're given anyway if it's out of season; she's not far wrong there, either, in our area, although of course most of it isn't binned but sold to the rag-man.

It seems like the most appalling waste to me, but she's said before, I can afford it, it's my money, it makes me feel good, what's the problem?

Why do you say 'she's not far wrong' about charity shops binning stuff because it's out of season?
That's crazy & I doubt it's true of any charity shop receiving high-end bnwt goods.
She sounds a sad money-rich life-poor woman.

GreyQueen

I always wince when up at the tip (I take the odd recyclable item not allowed in the household waste like metal or CFL lightbulbs, plus the evil weeds which survive composting such as bindweed and horsetail).

Wincing because of the truly excellent stuff which goes over the side, and is often spoiled by the drop. They recycle north of 70% of the stuff which goes in there but re-use is far better than recycling. Most of the items being trashed could have fitted in a carrier bag and been dropped off easily. Heck, these people drove to the tip, they could have just as easily driven to the c.s. Some of them here are even open on Sundays.

I was rendered speechless by a couple in their late fifties who would discard good stuff they didn't want but deliberately vandalise and destroy it beforehand, so it couldn't do someone else a turn. They said We paid good money for this, why the hell should someone else get it for nothing?

If I could have trusted myself to speak, I would have drawn their attention to the charity shop supporting the town's hospice, the cancer charity shop, and the BHF charity shop. It's a rare family not touched by cancer or heart disease, some people's relations will need hospice care and even if you are a complete misanthrope, there are worthy animal charities galore.

Alas, I reckon that such entrenched meanness of spirit was unlikely to have been mitigated by a few words of mine, or anyone else's.:(

I haven't seen the second programme (saw the first recorded by a friend and that was bad enough) but might see if I can get it via the web as I haven't got a telly of my own. My mind was boggling at the clothing mountain shown on the trailer, though.

thriftwizard

Pollycat, I live in a small but relatively wealthy medieval market town, and many of the shops are in small medieval buildings, with correspondingly tiny stockrooms - one of them literally 8' x 6' up a twisty, uneven old staircase. They cannot hold onto stock that can't go straight onto the sales floor, and stuff only gets a week or two out before it goes to the ragman if unsold.

I've volunteered in one and helped out in other ways in a couple of others so am very familiar with the set-up; every Monday they'll find bags of stuff piled up on the doorstep & at the back doors, and more will be brought in during the day. It gets sorted straight away and only about 10% will be deemed appropriate for the sales floor, as space is at such a premium. It has to be clean & in good condition (with them so far!) a "decent" label, currently fashionable and in season. They will only put out stuff they're confident will sell quickly; some may be passed on to other, more appropriate, branches (if any) some may be passed around the stitching groups etc. before making its way to independent traders like me, but most of the rest will go to the rag-man. Only a couple of them have PAT testers; electrical goods donated to the other may get passed over to those, if anyone has time, but otherwise the plug is cut off & they're binned.

The manager of the one we volunteered at actually took several people to court for removing stuff from the bins; she too thought it "out of order" that people should be trying to get something for nothing, and believed that people would just wait for stuff to go into the bins if they weren't "dealt with" swiftly. She refused to believe that anyone could possibly be "in real need" if they could string a sentence together. "Don't tell me that someone like that couldn't go & get a proper job!" I wasn't surprised - or terribly upset - when that branch was closed.

Justamum

thriftwizard wrote: »

Pollycat, I live in a small but relatively wealthy medieval market town, and many of the shops are in small medieval buildings, with correspondingly tiny stockrooms - one of them literally 8' x 6' up a twisty, uneven old staircase. They cannot hold onto stock that can't go straight onto the sales floor, and stuff only gets a week or two out before it goes to the ragman if unsold.

Our local charity shops have very small storage areas which are always packed with stuff, but luckily they have a very fast turnaround on things. My aunt died in June and I took car loads of stuff to them and they were delighted. I saw some things leaving the shop already bought as I was bringing another armful to the shop, so I was delighted.

My aunt used to make loads of Christmas and Easter cards every year to sell at the church sale, and there were boxes and boxes of craft things, so I took them all up to the primary school and the lady in charge of crafting was absolutely delighted with them. Someone will always find a use for something, so I just can't understand why anyone would throw perfectly good stuff away.

The local Hospice Shop will collect furniture they think will sell so I asked them to come and collect my aunt's furniture which was in very good condition. They didn't want the white bedroom furniture as 'it doesn't sell', and a very large wooden cabinet with a drinks cabinet attached to the top they would only take the bottom part. I made a few trips to the tip with the bedroom furniture and it barely touched the floor before someone snapped it up and took it. Even the drinks cabinet unit went quickly. Hospice Shop loss.

I know one of the men who works at the tip and he told me that recently someone brought in an old bible. It sat on the table for three weeks until eventually someone took it, checked on-line and found it was worth £5,000!!! It was leather bound with brass corners and written on parchment. What a find!

Justamum

GreyQueen wrote: »

I was rendered speechless by a couple in their late fifties who would discard good stuff they didn't want but deliberately vandalise and destroy it beforehand, so it couldn't do someone else a turn. They said We paid good money for this, why the hell should someone else get it for nothing?

What a horrible couple! Plus there's no logic to their argument at all.

Pinkle

katkin wrote: »

Maybe the demand for vegetables would increase if the price dropped. Price is often used as an explanation by people who don't eat enough veg / fruit.

How many times has one heard that people don't eat enough veg because it's too expensive? It's utter nonsense.

People can't be bothered to scrape and cook carrots - a takeaway or ready meal is so much easier.

melanzana

This thread is great, but TBH it is being read by like minded people mainly.

So is educating the people coming up behind us the key? And will they actually listen at all?

I am especially thinking here of best by dates and the like, and knobbly crooked veg. And throwing out food, and not using the freezer as a future "use by date" extension, and so on.

Sadly I think those who might be following on from us may just discard food because it is..... name it for me, there are lots of reasons, none of which are real for throwing it out!

Them and us maybe. And it will get worse unless kids today are EDUCATED about waste. But will they care? And indeed many adults do not care either let it be said.

I get a bit worried when a blackened banana is binned for example. Great for the potassium levels or to make fabulous banana bread or smoothie.

Just an example.

System

If we eat more ugly veg we can waste the pretty stuff instead