Tag Archives: trash

Oct24

trashie, not trashy.

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Trashie Take Back Bag


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​​If you’ve had a pile of clothes to donate sitting in the back of your car or closet for months (no judgment here), then the Trashie Take Back Bag is for you. You simply buy a bag for $20, fill it up with 15 pounds of clothes, shoes, accessories, swimwear, underwear, sheets, or towels (from any brand, in any condition), then download the free shipping label and mail it back via the U.S. Postal Service. In return, you’ll earn $30 in TrashieCash to spend on clothes, dining, entertainment, sporting goods, wellness, and more on Trashie.io.*

How It Works

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‘there is no such thing as ‘away’. when we throw anything away it must go somewhere.’

*annie leonard

*Annie Leonard is an American proponent of sustainability and a critic of consumerism. She created the animated film The Story of Stuff, which describes the life cycle of material goods. In 2014, she became the executive director of Greenpeace USA

Mar18

‘trash has given us an appetite for art.’- pauline kael

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A New York garbage depot holds a secret collection of weird and wonderful refuse.

The Treasures in the Trash Collection

On the second floor of a nondescript warehouse owned by New York City’s Sanitation Department in East Harlem is a treasure trove—filled with other people’s trash.

Titanic. The Exhibition

– DMV

Titanic. The Exhibition

Most of the building is used as a depot for garbage trucks, but there’s a secret collection that takes over an entire floor. The space is populated by a mind-bogglingly wide array of items: a bestiary of Tamagotchis, Furbies; dozens of Pez dispensers; female weight lifting trophies; 8-track tapes; plates, paintings, sporting equipment and much more.

The Treasures in the Trash collection, was created entirely out of objects found by Nelson Molina, a now-retired sanitation worker, who began by decorating his locker. Collected over 30 years, it is a visual explosion, organized by type, color, and size. Atlas Obscura had the chance to visit the collection with the New York Adventure Club, take some photos, and revel in the vast creative possibilities of trash. Unfortunately, this isn’t a collection that keeps regular hours; drop-ins are not allowed. For more information on the occasional organized tours, email tours@dsny.nyc.gov. Sanitation workers are welcome anytime.

“uncommon thinkers reuse what common thinkers refuse.”

-j.r.d. tata

 

 

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source credits: atlas obscura, dylan thuras, new york adventure club

collection location: 343 East 99th St., New York, New York, 10029 usa

 

 

Jan30

treasure trove.

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Turkish Garbage Collectors Open Library Full of Discarded Books

Turkish garbage collectors in the country’s capital city of Ankara have opened a public library that is full of books that were originally destined to be put into landfill. The workers began collecting discarded books and opened the new library in the Çankaya district of Ankara. News of the library has spread and now people have begun donating books directly to the library, rather than throwing them away.

As CNN reports, the library was originally created for the use of the employees friends and family but, as it grew in size, the library was officially opened to the public in September of last year. “We started to discuss the idea of creating a library from these books. And when everyone supported it, this project happened,” said Çankaya Mayor Alper Tasdelen, whose local government spearheaded the opening of the library.

The library now has over 6,000 fiction and non-fiction books and includes a children’s section, an area dedicated to scientific research books, and a number of English and French language books for those who are bilingual. The library building itself used to be a brick factory and is located at the sanitation department HQ. The building featured long corridors and an aged brick facade and transformed perfectly into a library.

Books can be withdrawn for two weeks at a time, with an extension available if required. The library’s collection has now become so vast that it loans many of the books to schools, educational programs, and even prisons.“Village schoolteachers from all over Turkey are requesting books,” Tasdelen said. The library has also created new job opportunities as it requires full time staff to run and support it.

The library has proven to be a huge hit with the community. Children of the employees often enjoy reading there and local school children visit to study. Local cyclists who pedal through the nearby valley often take a break there and enjoy the lounge area and chess boards. “Before, I wished that I had a library in my house. Now we have a library here,” Serhat Baytemur, a 32-year-old garbage collector, told state media.

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“ours is a culture and a time immensely rich in trash as it is in treasures.”
― ray bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

 

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credits: kerrytown bookfest, forreadingaddicts.co.uk,cnn

 

Oct28

trash.

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trash1

when science and art meet trash.

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“everybody’s talking trash these days, so why not keep quiet?”

-dennis rodman

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credits:  new yorker magazine, molly young, teddy blanks

 

Aug11

what has 4 wheels and writes?

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i am fascinated, time and again, by my garbagemen. they’ve taken on the role of old-school catholic nuns – strict with their rules, calling me out in front of everyone, and trying to teach me using a tough love approach, though they use ink rather than chalk as their medium of choice, and rap my knuckles with pens rather than wooden rulers.  

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i am always amazed, that for some reason, there are times when they see fit to stop on their route and write me a note, leaving sticky notes on top of my bins. these notes tell me what i’ve done wrong: bins too close together, wrong item in the wrong bin, green bin to the left of the blue bin, trash not in alphabetical order, and god knows what else, a myriad of my garbage sins.   

i find it hilarious that they will take the time to stop and write me these notes rather than just moving a bin over 8.5 inches if need be, taking the trash, and going on with their day. no, instead, they leave it full and with a note atop, promising to be back the next week at the appointed hour to attempt to pick it up again, when my mistake has been corrected. i imagine, at that point they figure i will have done my penance and they will have forgiven me my sins and they are willing and able help me to dispose of my trash, so that i can start anew with a clean slate once again. these guys are all forgiving and have no limit to trying to teach me to do better, and i plan to give them a lovely pen set for christmas this year. 

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 I lived through the garbage. I might as well dine on the caviar . Beverly Sills