Dear Editor,

What sort of cryptic formula is this? Well, it indicates that in dealing with waste material, there is a hierarchy of efficiency. We have the mechanisms in place for us to ship our plastic waste downriver to places that sort it, grind it, heat it, and make it into other plastic items. But count those steps; handling, transporting, grinding, heating, re-forming all require energy and money. That’s energy expended on something that is of no use to us; the plastic that comes “for free” with each consumer item we purchase. It would be more efficient to devise other uses for these plastic bits, rather than to collect, ship and process them somewhere else. 

I eat a lot of yogurt, and keep the containers until I can make other uses of them, before reluctantly letting the town crew haul them away.  I just de-cluttered an area in my kitchen, where vitamin pill bottles had been accumulating for a few years. I have two bread bags full of clean and re-usable sealable plastic bottles. Do you have any ideas for them? If so, they’re free for the taking. I know, most of you have more profitable things to do with your time and space; I do this so that you don’t have to. 

The little metal cans that cat food comes in are more expensive to mine, create, ship and dispose of than the small amount of random meat products they contain. I have yet to figure out a good re-use for them. Please send thoughts and prayers. 

I’m just trying to save us some time and money; as it is, we’re enslaving ourselves to deal with products we never shopped for.

We want food and gadgets, but we spend time and money dealing with waste packaging. 

Robert Wills, Thorne and Shawville