They are going to name a landfill after me.

[Chicken Little]

OK, I am a bit of a tree hugger.  I recycle, have low energy appliances and drive a hybrid.  I am having a really hard time with all the waste generated from PD.  The boxes, the plastic and throwing away used bags in the regular trash.      Anyone else feel bad about their carbon footprint? 

[kitkatz]

Recycle what you can and make the manufacturer take back the plastics.

[Sluff]

The plastics should be biodegradable aren't they?

[Ken Shelmerdine]

I think that the carbon footprint of domestic households is negligable and there's no way I feel guilty about it when the two governments of the biggest industrialised nations in the world and a number of others seem to show little interest in reducing their gargantuan carbon footprints. And to the ones who say every little bit helps, I say no it doesn't and the green powers that be know that, but if in the meantime they can make us all feel guilty when we put the wrong material into the wrong recycle bin then thats fine by them because it justifies their hidden agenda of getting money from us through extra taxes and fines etc. There has always existed an element of individuals in power throughout history who want to control us in any way they can from the witchfinder generals of the middle ages and the catholic church which manipulated people through the fear of hell fire through to things like McCarthyism in the last century. Whatever sacrifices we make as indivduals and it is becoming a time consuming sacrifice and inconvenient (I'm sure most of us have better things to do than spend time separating our rubbish for this bin or that bin) it's impact is negligable on the so called carbon footprint of the world. We may as well throw snowballs at the sun! Don't fall for this cynical attemt to manipulate us.

[angela515]

Luckily I live in the country, all my PD stuff was burned in a burn barrell except the tubing which we put in a garbage bag and it went to the trash  with all the other trash bags.

[Nan]

I too...am quite shocked at the garbage from PD.....I have decided to either burn the boxes....oh so many of them......or recycle them flat, but then there are those miles and miles of plastic tubing!  I do admit as I wrap them up in the morning....there is some guilt!

[kitkatz]

When it is a matter of LIFE or DEATH, then to hell with the recycling issues!

[Hephs-little-lady]

Heph & I recycle the boxes & use some on our allotment. As we are in the UK, all the rest is considered clinical waste and is collected by the local council (government) for incineration which is apparently a legal requirement. So, the worry is really taken from our hands.

And as KitKatz say's,

When it is a matter of LIFE or DEATH, then to hell with the recycling issues!

[goofynina]

When it is a matter of LIFE or DEATH, then to hell with the recycling issues!

Kit said it best, i am sorry but we have to do what we need to do to survive.  There is nothing i can do (other than go back to hemo, and i DO NOT want to do that) about all the trash except throw it away, my boxes are cut up and i usually have friends that are moving so i give my boxes to them, if not, they are thrown away too.  I do recycle cans, bottles, plastics and such so i do TRY to do my part 

[KICKSTART]

Im in the UK also , the plastic is taken to be incinerated and the boxes are taken to be re-cycled here.

[jbeany]

And to the ones who say every little bit helps, I say no it doesn't and the green powers that be know that,

I don't know that I agree with that - I know I can't help the amount of waste that comes from my hemo treatments, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop the other things I do, like turning off the lights when I'm not in the room, and insulating my water heater, and reusing or recycling as many things as I can.  I'm not obsessive about it, but it doesn't take much to do a little.

[Chicken Little]

Where I live you don't have a choice, except to recycle.  The trash man will not pick up your bins and you will receive a ticket if it's not separated.  Burning garbage was also outlawed back in the 1960's here.  I may not dirty up this planet as much as big industry does, but I'm going to do my very best to not make the situation worse.  

[MyssAnne]

It's shocking how much is generated when you are on pd. As for boxes, there is always someone who needs them. Perhaps someone can figure out how to make the tubing safe for others to use, somehow? I have thought of that, but can't wrap my brain around the concept just yet! I have a huge pile of boxes because I hate to just throw them out.....

[goofynina]

Where I live you don't have a choice, except to recycle.  The trash man will not pick up your bins and you will receive a ticket if it's not separated.  Burning garbage was also outlawed back in the 1960's here.  I may not dirty up this planet as much as big industry does, but I'm going to do my very best to not make the situation worse.   

Good for you Chicken Little, i know I personally appreciate the people that do what little they can because i know my nieces, nephews, Godchildren and all the other kids need to have a chance at a clean environment when they get older. 

[goofynina]

It's shocking how much is generated when you are on pd. As for boxes, there is always someone who needs them. Perhaps someone can figure out how to make the tubing safe for others to use, somehow? I have thought of that, but can't wrap my brain around the concept just yet! I have a huge pile of boxes because I hate to just throw them out.....

MyssAnne,  you can always put a "Free Boxes" add in your local newspaper,  people looking for houses or apartments might need them.  just my 

[luckaholic]

Im on home HD and I too hate the amount of rubbish that goes in the bin. But I especially feel bad about the rediculous amount of water that is used. We are in drought at the moment, and I just wonder why cant we have the NxStage over here? I dont think the pollies realise how much of our water is being used from dialysis. It is never even mentioned in the talks about it.
I recycle all the plastic bottles, there are tons of them, and my other half takes the boxes to work and puts them in their recycling bin. We do have a recycling bin at home but it is only emptied every 2 weeks so its impossible to put any of it in there.

I wouldnt be burning the boxes, as thats just as bad for the environment. Although I know some people dont have much choice.

[angela515]

As for burning of the boxes, I had no choice. Living in the middle of nowhere and the people who pick up the boxes once aweek will only pick up 3 boxes at a time. I used 2 boxes everyday... I would of been piled with boxes and never caught up... I however don't have to worry about that anymore since Transplant... but to be honest it wasn't really a concern before anyways. as kitkatz mentioned... when it comes to life or death, you do what you have to.

[luckaholic]

3 boxes a time?? what a waste of time! were they still assembled? We flatten them all.

[angela515]

3 boxes a time?? what a waste of time! were they still assembled? We flatten them all.

No we flattened them and cut them up, easier to put in burn barrell.

[Sluff]

MyssAnne,  you can always put a "Free Boxes" add in your local newspaper,  people looking for houses or apartments might need them.  just my 

Especially at the end of the month.