No waste

In teaching about permaculture (or my version of it) here in Costa Rica, I use the idea of no waste. Since people are used to using the manure that comes from dairy, it makes sense.

One person's waste is another person's treasure. For example, when we were filling for our permit for a furniture factory, we had to have an environmental impact study done. One question was, what about the sawdust? Many places just end up with huge piles of sawdust, because to them, it is waste and they have no market for it. They let people just take it away.

We use ours on trails as well as bedding for our sheep. This produces about 25 wheelbarrows of sawdust mixed with sheep droppings every week and that we use! What is interesting is who does the work.

The furniture factory does nothing about the sawdust, we have vacuums that constantly remove it. But the people who take care of the sheep love the stuff, so they haul it to the sheep fold. But, they don't apply it, the gardeners do that, cheerfully, every week. They love the stuff for growing things. Totally organic. So, they scrap out the sheep fold every week and replace the sawdust.

The idea has been to have the work done by the person who perceives it as not waste, but gold. It is working well.

Just curious what your take on this is.

sounds like a great situation. work is so much more pleasant when someone feels they are getting something out of it that makes their job easier or more productive. the lowly job to one person is the highlight of their job to another.... I have had lots of chuckles by owners of horse stables as I go and cheerfully....almost gleefully.....dig through their pile of stall cleanings! to me i am happy to do it...its exciting actually because to me i know I am getting some awesome compost.......and to them I am hauling off their trash

I calculate that when the sheep flock reaches 100, if not sooner, the yield in organic fertilizer alone pays for the shepherd! Very cool.

Since we have no debt, adding more does not mean we have to borrow. This means we don't have to have much return to have things work.

This I think is also a key, when you live simply, you can work efficiently without being worried if you are getting every possible gain you can get. You build for the long term instead.

we are being totally blessed right now. Our son's shop was bought out by the chinese Oct 31, and my son is in charge of doing a lot of the remodeling at the shop (working 64 hours a week 5 12's plus 4 hours Sun night)..and he said, Mom I'm going to drive the truck to work every day.

Thursday night after work he brought home a truckload of salvage, one 4x8 pegboard, 2 4x8 white tile board, several 4x8 plywood, 9 9' 2x4s, 2x12s, 4 small and 2 large air lifts, and some scrap wood for our wood burner..

Friday night he brought home some slab steel and 2 steel tables..one with bearings so the oct top rotates, and one 30 x 30 stationary table with 1/4 " thick steel top..great welding table.

Saturday I went with him to pick up a load..large pick up full..of 4x8 sheets of plywood, masonite and white tile board, this was ALL going to be put into the compactor, except the steel which would have been sold for scrap.

he showed me some large curved pieces of 1/4 " steel plates..they are about 5' wide and about 8' long that are curve into a shape similar to what you would have if you bent a playing card from the sides.

he said, what can we use those for?

well i said..we could put  one up on top of 4 posts and use it to park the tracktor under..or if we could put several together even have a larger area..but would have to weld or somehow waterproof the seam between them if they were put side by side..

i also said, we could use them for arbors, arches, trellises or even the roofs for small sheds..

he said, OK I'm going to ask if i can have or purchase them (he always gets permission)..and then if he can load them up and bring them home.

he said there will be lots more truckloads of this type of stuff..esp the wood..and i'm thrilled..a few other people wanted some pegboard, but they didn't want the plywood or tile board (which is what they use like white board to write on or for around showers)..he is going to use some of the whiteboard for the ceiling in his paint booth in his garage.

it will reflect a lot of light.

we will use some of the plywood for soffits in our woodshed and some of the other stuff to add inside walls to the sheds we built this year..and some of the other stuff will be used to build small storage buildings...maybe i'll even get a chicken coop someday?

even if we can't use all the material i'm sure we can find people who will be able to, rather than having it all crushed and taken to the landfill.

This is wonderful tree~dude, what a great way to mange a recycling situation in a positive way! 

This I think is also a key, when you live simply, you can work efficiently without being worried if you are getting every possible gain you can get. You build for the long term instead.

And I would add, you are blessing others in the process, sharing the 'gain'.


Leah's right, this permaculture certainly flips one's perspective.

Jami McBride wrote:
This is wonderful tree~dude, what a great way to mange a recycling situation in a positive way! 

And I would add, you are blessing others in the process, sharing the 'gain'.


Leah's right, this permaculture certainly flips one's perspective.

Thanks, I count myself richer on how many new jobs I create, more than how much I have in the Stock Market.

Another thing I think perhaps is part of permaculture is the need to have a healthy society. What good is it if I have all the wealth in the world, if my neighbors are without? But, if we all create a thriving economy, it helps everyone.

And I find teaching by example sure works better than yelling.