Have you ever thought about your garbage? I don't mean as a passing thing but have you REALLY thought about it? If you recycle then you probably put a few plastic bottles and a few newspapers in the bin and think you've done your part. If you don't then you may think I'm way out there in left field and that garbage has nothing to do with prepping. Of course, I am going to tell you why your garbage actually is something very important to consider now and WTSHTF.
First, just imagine that its possible that in the future there may not be anybody picking up your tidy little bags of garbage or your recyclables. There may not be a dump to stop by with even a few bags of trash. Now think about your current garbage production. Maybe you don't have much of it but even in that case even a little bit of garbage will build up over time. If you have just one bag a week it still has to be dealt with. You can't just let it build up to become a nasty, stinking pile of bags and food containers. Just imagine the stinky pile of mess that would be after a week, a month, six months or even years. Then imagine that your neighbors have an identical pile of rotting garbage. If you are on a small parcel of land or in an apartment then imagine how fast your yard would fill up or your spare closet would get packed. At some point, you are going to have to figure out what you will do with piles of rotting garbage or you will have a HUGE problem on your hands with clutter, smell, disease, bugs and rodents.
The first thing to think about when planning for garbage disposal has to be to create less of it. That usually means being less wasteful but it also means being conscious of the products we use. If you're going to buy things from the store consider what kind of packaging it comes in and how many bags you use to bring it home. Every container and bag brought home has to be considered for whether it will be useful or create garbage. Right now its easy to just toss it in the garbage to go to the landfill but later we may not have that option. Also, landfills don't deal with the breakdown of some plastics (like plastic wrap, zipper bags or drink bottles) and rubber (like sneakers).
I always try to buy in glass or sometimes a plastic jar that I can reuse for storage or canning. Paper and string can also be reused or repurposed. Sometimes it can become second nature to think about the varied uses for the things that others put in the garbage. During the Great Depression or during wartime rationing out grandparents would never throw away cotton string or scraps of paper or all kinds of things because they weren't living in a disposable time.
Beyond things like food packaging and other disposable items there is also the need to use things until they wear out and then use it some more for something else. For instance, while a shirt or pair of pants might be too worn to wear it might still have good fabric which can be made into rags or quilts. Buttons can be removed and saved for when they are needed. Cuffs, collars and hems can be turned on some clothes to hide the worn spots or cut off to make shorts. Hosiery and socks can sometimes be used for other things or darned and made to last a little longer.
Whether certain papers are made into new designer Craft and wrapping paper or something to start the campfire it keeps it out of the ground. It creates less expense and less work to repurpose it rather then throwing it away. The same holds true for all "garbage" whether its scraps made into soup or dog food or for making compost. Keep them OUT of the garbage and make them work for you stretching your dollars and saving you added labor.
In the end the only way to get rid of the garbage is to burn it or bury it. Burning WTSHTF is the equivalent of sending up smoke signals telling others where to find you. Burying it means backbreaking work and acres of landfill on or around your property. Prepare now by planning for garbage (or lack of it). Start trying to reduce it and reuse it to keep it to a minimum because believe it or not it IS important now but especially WTSHTF.
Southern Wood Elf