View Full Version : Reuse, recycle
I'm inspired by the ziplock thread. At home we reuse them as much as possible. On the trail I FBC but like others noted, after a week or so the ziplocks get pretty funky.
Other reuses:
I use the plastic jars that peanuts come in to store my dehydrated meals on shelves in my clean coal cellar.
I store other things, Spam/tuna singles, etc in the metal cans that NIDO comes in.
I use the metal foil inner seals from NIDO and the peanuts as a reflector under my stove (reduces burning a surface, too).
Blood sample test strips come in a black plastic container (a little smaller than a 35mm film canister with a water tight lid). That's where I keep my matches and vaseline cotton ball fire starter.
I've got my salt, pepper, DrB's, bug juice, sun screen, toothpicks in the small shampoo bottles that you get in motel rooms.
I haven't come up with a good idea for empty chapstick tubes. With the bottom superglued on they'd make a good container for something small.
NIDO, had to look it up: nonfat milk, vegetable oils (corn, canola, palm), sugar, maltodextrin, lactose, milk fat, honey, prebiotics oligofructose and inulin, less than 2% calcium carbonate, soy lecithin, vitamins B6, C, D3, and K, vitamins A and E as acetate, taurine, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, niacinamide, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, biotin, calcium pantothenate, and sodium selenate.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nido#cite_note-5)
Frankenfood, by any definition.
And you feed this to children? Inflammatory oils, insulin-spiking sugar and maltodextrin (GMO corn), honey (fructose, goes to NAFLD), plus a chemistry set (to compensate for the lack of nutrients in the toxic prior ingredients). Great! Whatz wrong with whole (or breast) milk?
Sandy of PA
11-20-2016, 16:55
You are looking at the wrong Nido product. For hiking, I use Nido powdered Whole Milk, not the fortified crap.
You are looking at the wrong Nido product. For hiking, I use Nido powdered Whole Milk, not the fortified crap.
Amen. Find it in the Hispanic section of most any Walmart. The yellow label is whole milk.
I don't care what else is in it, 8 ounces of whole milk once or twice a day in the backside of Nowhere can't be all bad.
Wayne
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Traillium
11-20-2016, 18:57
I'm inspired by the ziplock thread. At home we reuse them as much as possible. On the trail I FBC but like others noted, after a week or so the ziplocks get pretty funky.
Other reuses:
I use the plastic jars that peanuts come in to store my dehydrated meals on shelves in my clean coal cellar.
I store other things, Spam/tuna singles, etc in the metal cans that NIDO comes in.
I use the metal foil inner seals from NIDO and the peanuts as a reflector under my stove (reduces burning a surface, too).
Blood sample test strips come in a black plastic container (a little smaller than a 35mm film canister with a water tight lid). That's where I keep my matches and vaseline cotton ball fire starter.
I've got my salt, pepper, DrB's, bug juice, sun screen, toothpicks in the small shampoo bottles that you get in motel rooms.
I haven't come up with a good idea for empty chapstick tubes. With the bottom superglued on they'd make a good container for something small.
Good ideas — thanks!
Empty cleaned chapsticks w/ cap can hold stick matches, aspirin/NSAIDs, weekend with of meds, watch batteries, spices, refill with Tiger Balm, solid anti chafing balm, two-three incense cones, store jewelry like gold chains, hold a small tube of AquaSeal, toothpicks, fire starters, wadded cotton balls for medical emergencies or glopped up with vaseline of wet/winter weather firestarters,
I reuse rubber bands(good for holding open food packages closed), baggies, small spritzer bottle that contain DIY essential oil bug juice, and since I make up b'fast, dinners, and snacks pre hike that cuts down on get ready and go impromptu hikes, moisture absorbing packets found in vitamin bottles, jerky, etc that are included in Ziplocked DIY meals to lengthen expiration dates, duck tape...
When gear reaches the end of its useful life I scavenge it for parts. zipper pulls, better quality SUL zippers, mini cord locked, plastic mitten hooks, mini non technical miners, fabrics, hasps found on gaiters, buckles(waist belt, TriGlides, etc) mesh, shot/bungee cord, noseeum, better quality shoe laces. lengths of high quality high strength SUL wt cord, stove parts, cookware handles and accessories, pieces of Ti sheet, etc
In the shop small amounts of hardware are placed in all sorts of se through mostly glass, jars that have lids. The lids are screwed to overhead wood and the jars with the screws, nails, etc are easily seen suspended. Unscrew the jar and the lid stays. Much easier than all the stacking and sorting of small hardware boxes.
It happened yesterday that I read a book named "Zero Waste".
Although written in German, many expressions are put in English, maybe in the intention of sounding hip.
The central sheme in this book is, "The 5 R's":
- Refuse
- Reduce
- Reuse
- Recycle
- Rot
All of the above can be positively applied to hiking.
theinfamousj
11-21-2016, 16:01
I haven't come up with a good idea for empty chapstick tubes. With the bottom superglued on they'd make a good container for something small.
Funny you should mention! My favorite reuse of those tubes is to disassemble them and remove the central plastic screw thread (my wire nippers clip right through). Then reassemble and use as a Vitamin I pill bottle. Ibuprofen pills are the exact right size to stack neatly inside the standard chapstick tube.
I have also decanted deodorant, solid sunblock, solid lotion, and solid perfume into empty chapstick containers with the center screw still intact. But that is for travel and not for backpacking as we all know that no one uses Deo on the trail.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
atraildreamer
11-23-2016, 16:09
I'm inspired by the ziplock thread. At home we reuse them as much as possible. On the trail I FBC but like others noted, after a week or so the ziplocks get pretty funky.
Other reuses:
I use the plastic jars that peanuts come in to store my dehydrated meals on shelves in my clean coal cellar.
I store other things, Spam/tuna singles, etc in the metal cans that NIDO comes in.
I use the metal foil inner seals from NIDO and the peanuts as a reflector under my stove (reduces burning a surface, too).
Blood sample test strips come in a black plastic container (a little smaller than a 35mm film canister with a water tight lid). That's where I keep my matches and vaseline cotton ball fire starter.
I've got my salt, pepper, DrB's, bug juice, sun screen, toothpicks in the small shampoo bottles that you get in motel rooms.
I haven't come up with a good idea for empty chapstick tubes. With the bottom superglued on they'd make a good container for something small.
Take an empty nasal spray bottle, remove the pressed-in applicator tip, remove the tube attached to the applicator tip. Clean out the bottle and use it for dish & hand soap, hand moisturizing cream, Purell, bleach for water disinfection, whatever. Bottles come in 1 or 2 ounce capacities, but you can usually put more than that in each bottle.
I have also made sporks out of McDonald's McFlurry spoons.
See post #19:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/99981-Buy-a-McFlurry-get-a-sweet-spoon?highlight=McSpork
It happened yesterday that I read a book named "Zero Waste".
Although written in German, many expressions are put in English, maybe in the intention of sounding hip.
The central sheme in this book is, "The 5 R's":
- Refuse
- Reduce
- Reuse
- Recycle
- Rot
All of the above can be positively applied to hiking.
There are some so fanatical about zero waste in the abstract they ignore the practicality of achieving 100% zero waste or some aspects of achieving it in their own lives. It's a worthy aim just like LNT but in a practical sense the larger success is through the striving and consideration that creates a greater awareness.
I think its valid to put some habit into an extreme at times, just to come back to a more moderate attitude (but still in the same direction) later.
I personally at times have been in extremes of various kinds and while I have to admit that family life (a big family) at a whole is very difficult to align with Zero Waste and other green strategies, its easy for me to fall back into some old habits when I'm out alone.
So yes, it makes sense to try sometimes things like zero waste. Even if you won't reach Zero.
The book I was talking about is a good one as they also give receipes for several household and personal cleaning/hygiene articles, that could easily fit into hiking. The sense of making your own chemicals is not only to have less waste by not buying, but also using far less money. (OK, this is speculation at the moment, I still have most to try myself - just did the leather boot waterproofing myself which worked fine).
rocketsocks
11-23-2016, 20:08
Take an empty nasal spray bottle, remove the pressed-in applicator tip, remove the tube attached to the applicator tip. Clean out the bottle and use it for dish & hand soap, hand moisturizing cream, Purell, bleach for water disinfection, whatever. Bottles come in 1 or 2 ounce capacities, but you can usually put more than that in each bottle.
I have also made sporks out of McDonald's McFlurry spoons.I gots my MacFlurry spoon!
atraildreamer
11-24-2016, 13:21
I gots my MacFlurry spoon!
They came out with a new McFlurry spoon that is a bit wider than the old one. Still works great!
Leo, BTW, I find nein vor einem problem stehen with your English. Best I can do, although I know it's not Austrian. ;)
I understand you better than quite a few Americans.
Thanks for the kind words, Dogwood!
Your texts are always apprecciated.
BTW, I envy you a bit for all the opportunities you take when it comes to hiking.
garlic08
11-25-2016, 09:36
It happened yesterday that I read a book named "Zero Waste".
Although written in German, many expressions are put in English, maybe in the intention of sounding hip.
The central sheme in this book is, "The 5 R's":
- Refuse
- Reduce
- Reuse
- Recycle
- Rot
All of the above can be positively applied to hiking.
Most of us, at least in the US, concentrate on recycling, probably because it's the easiest to do without affecting our lifestyles very much. But it really should be number 4 on the list.
I heard an eco-warrior speak about this and she made some sense. She said the recycling program as it exists in urban American could be one of the worst things to happen to our environment, because it makes people feel better about consuming! We should rather concentrate on "refuse, reduce and reuse" first, and recycle only as a last option. Thus the value of this thread.
I think a pepsi can alky stove is a great example of reusing. So is a one liter soda bottle used to carry water. Both are better than free--they take something out of the waste stream and put it to good use.
If you know a geocacher, they love tiny waterproof containers.
Another Kevin
11-25-2016, 10:46
I heard an eco-warrior speak about this and she made some sense. She said the recycling program as it exists in urban American could be one of the worst things to happen to our environment, because it makes people feel better about consuming! We should rather concentrate on "refuse, reduce and reuse" first, and recycle only as a last option. Thus the value of this thread.
I think a pepsi can alky stove is a great example of reusing. So is a one liter soda bottle used to carry water. Both are better than free--they take something out of the waste stream and put it to good use.
Hikers are pretty good at refusing and reducing. There's a pretty hard limit on how much waste you can generate when you have to carry all your stuff with you.
To an eco-hardliner, 'reuse' specifically means 'for the original purpose.' Otherwise, it's 'recycling,' since the material is still degraded. I'll give soda can alky stoves and soda bottle water carriers a pass on that, since once they have been recycled into that application, they are typically reused many times.
With the exception of deposit bottles (some of which turn into fleece garments), American plastic 'recycling' is pretty atrocious. Most 'recycled' plastic is simply made into asphalt.
Most of us, at least in the US, concentrate on recycling, probably because it's the easiest to do without affecting our lifestyles very much. But it really should be number 4 on the list.
I heard an eco-warrior speak about this and she made some sense. She said the recycling program as it exists in urban American could be one of the worst things to happen to our environment, because it makes people feel better about consuming! We should rather concentrate on "refuse, reduce and reuse" first, and recycle only as a last option. Thus the value of this thread.
I think a pepsi can alky stove is a great example of reusing. So is a one liter soda bottle used to carry water. Both are better than free--they take something out of the waste stream and put it to good use.
If you know a geocacher, they love tiny waterproof containers.
She is not the first to recognize that. ;) Good Point.
Refuse(#1 by far), reduce(#2) and reuse............................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .....................recycle.
atraildreamer
11-27-2016, 18:53
...I think a pepsi can alky stove is a great example of reusing. So is a one liter soda bottle used to carry water. Both are better than free--they take something out of the waste stream and put it to good use. ...
You will not find a discarded soda can an the ground anywhere near the residence of a committed soda can stove builder. :-? They are immediately picked up and recycled into stoves! :D
BTW...I recycle my WB postings all the time! :rolleyes: