Real Recycling

While I'm not much on keeping a journal, or sharing what goes on in my life, I've thought for some time that it might be a good idea to set up a blog on recycling for real. Not the holier-than-thou-make-your-neighbors-do-what-you-think-they-should-no-matter-what type of recycling, but the real thing- finding something that is no longer in use, and then using it again.

Sometimes I use things for their original purpose, if I happen to have a need for that item. More often than not, I use the things I find as raw materials to make something entirely new. As a woodworker, I've found that using found materials (as opposed to those bought in predetermined sizes and lengths) has unlocked a level of creativity that I never knew I had. With this blog, I'm hoping to encourage others to do the same kind of thing.

You won't find any of the trendy snake oil here- we don't separate our trash (a little bit of easy research will tell you that most of it goes straight to the same landfill, and simply makes people feel good- at a much higher price in time and fees), and I don't do the things I do to "save the earth". The Earth is doing just fine, especially in the United States of America- the cleanest, best protected country on the face of the earth. What you will find here is simply a record of things I find, and what I do with it for my own purposes- and cleaning things up, and keeping good materials out of the local landfill at the same time! As in most things, simple self-interest does a better job than any government strong-arm program ever will.

I've got some materials around the house here already, and my eye on some more that I hope to pick up this weekend, so hopefully, the fun will begin soon!