Saving money from a landfill

The other day, I went to put a plastic trash bag into my outdoor trash can. Lo and behold, I find inside a sack full of money!

You'd wonder why someone who dispose of cash so readily. Well, I didn't know either, until I discovered that all of the coins inside were stuck together with sun-melted cough drops, and were gooey. Ouch.

I brought the bag into my kitchen, as I greeted my wife. She told me that our son threw his money away, because he didn't know how to deal with the mess.

Me, not wanting to waste precious funds, attempted to devise a method of cleaning said coinage. I tried dish soap and water--to no avail. Vinegar as a solvent was my next try; it failed. When I told my daughter of my plight, she offered up a bottle of 'Goof Off' cleaner.

I soaked the coins overnight, then painstakingly wiped them off, one by one, until they were cleaned. That process took over 2-hours. Whew! In the end, the total amounted to $14.36.

We traded the mostly unsticky metal for some paper money. (The coins would still gum up vending machines, so we opted to swap the out to use at yard sales.)

My son was grateful. If he had asked for help before tossing the ruined backpack, he could have had his money sooner. I think that the time put into saving his coins was both a green and kind thing to do.

Kindly advice given

Today, I advised a fellow programmer to follow their conscience on a website security issue. I agreed that they might want to suggest to a siteholder that they have a security problem. They did, and was glad that they did.

Recycling Electronics

Yeah, I just spent 1.5 hours last night taking apart an old boom box, whose only working part was the radio. The CD player and tape deck died eons ago.

I used the venerable music maker for about 20 years. I was told that it is good feng-shui to replace my broken electronics--so I am.

Yesterday, I even visited my small town's electronics store to ask about e-recycling. The owner told me that they are participating in an event this May to find new life for computers, but not radios. My township and county has no recycling plan for these (Waste Management). :-(

The irony is that I live between two former landfills: a municipal one just a few blocks away, and a larger hill across the big river, where I grew up. The Delaware Pigeon Point landfill is encapsulated now, but in the 1960s, you could smell the rubbish on a hot August day. Pewww!

Back to the good deed, eh?

Using screwdrivers and wire cutters, I pried open the beast to reveal it's guts. Taking only the radio parts for reuse (I might make a custom-boxed radio), I recycled the plastic case and parts (about 2 pounds). These parts won't fill a landfill, as my recycler took them about an hour ago (this AM).

My 5-year old grandson would be less sad that my stereo was not going fully into a 'hole in the ground forever'.

I'm sorry to admit that the other electronic parts are going underground. I could not find a taker. At least I encapsulated them in plastic, so as to not leach into the environment.

It was a lot of work and training that got me to reuse parts. I suppose that it's better than shipping it overseas to go into their landfills. :-)

Maybe I can do better. Maybe my grandson and I will come up with better ways to 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'.

Random act of kindess given to me today

Okay, I'll get us started.

Today, I received the kindness of two strangers.

While pushing my shopping cart in the Wal-Mart parking lot, a hefty gust of wind blew some of the plastic storage bins and lids I had purchased. That force of nature scattered my purchase over several square feet.

A man and his son saw my predicament, and rushed to help me gather up my wind-blown items. I thanked them kindly. They smiled, and went on their way.

I always thank God, when something like this happens. One purpose of people on this earth, I humbly believe, is to be here for each other. Praise Be. Amen.

Hi, Everyone! Welcome to my blog.

Hi, Everyone!

Welcome to my blog. Maybe you feel like sharing one thing you did today that made the world a better place. It doesn't have to be big, something like: I picked up a soda pop can off the sidewalk, and put it in the trash. Or, I took a deep breath before getting angry at someone.

It can be big, if you want to share.

And, please do tell us what you might want to try tomorrow. How about suggesting some simple things we all can try. Your good idea qualifies you for having done something good today.

Thanks for sharing!