Category Archives: Recycling
349 Deeds To Go
On the 23rd, I passed the two-week mark for daily good deeds. At the time of writing, I’ve completed 16 daily good deeds.
Recycling – Most of my deeds were simple. On Aug 18th, I brought soda cans to the local recycling center. I got $1 in return. I spent some time chatting with the gentlemen there petting their dogs. On the 20th, my BF and I had a chat and decided we’d recycle our cans at our new home (the cans I had before I’d collected while living in a barracks room by myself.) On Aug 22nd, I used two large paper grocery bags to make a bin for collecting cans (yay, recycling to recycle!)
Transportation – On the 22nd, I gave a solider in my platoon who had run out of gas rides to and from work and to an appointment at the hospital. The next day, the 23rd, I happened to pass a female soldier from another brigade walking along the road. I picked her up and gave her a ride.
Activism – On Aug 17th, I did something I really shouldn’t have had to do. I defended a woman’s maternal care rights to a group that claims to be about just that. I suppose the people there were so busy fighting for the right to have vaginal births and not have non-medically indicated cesarean sections forced upon them that they forgot that there’s nothing wrong with someone choosing to have a cesarean, if they want one. It was hard to get that point across with all the people too obsessed with birthing their way that they couldn’t imagine anyone else choosing another way.
Misc. – On Aug 19th, I bought an extra can of soda from a vendor because he was short on one dollar bills. I then gave this soda to a thirsty soldier. On Aug 21st, I attempted to bake cookies to share with my boyfriend. … Didn’t quite turn out. It’s the thought that counts, right?
Today, Aug 25th, I spent most of the day helping a female soldier from my platoon who I’ve known from my old unit and deployed with. She’s was having some serious financial trouble that wasn’t her fault and couldn’t afford gas. I spent the day giving her rides and gave her $10 to buy a few gallons. I brought her to a facility that could help her work out her money problems and, as she told me, are supposed to give her a gas card tomorrow. Later, I took her to the finance office and while she was in there, I went to Green Beans coffee to buy her a “happy drink.” Apparently, she has a favorite drink that she treats herself to once a month, but she feared she would not afford it this month. It’s the little things that cheer a person up, I think.
Like this:
Ew, lady. Ew.
I LOVE using Craigslist to shop for second-hand items. For me, it’s right up there with Freecycle and Geartrade in awesomitude.
I’ve been able to furnish most of my home either cheap or for free using the sites above as well as thrift stores. Not only do I save money this way, but the bit of me inclined to be green likes reusing things that might otherwise end up in a dump.
But there’s one thing (OK, more than one) I would never buy used – mattresses. Why not? Nasty things like this:
Lady, maybe your homebirth was special and magical (or whatever the hell else the natalist nuts like to call something that happens 340,500 times a day and is a matter of simple biology) to you, but your sentimental value of a gore-stained mattress does not translate into actual value. Blood stains aren’t designs, nor are they romantic or good luck. What it is is stinking gross. It doesn’t matter how you try to dress it up, no one wants your little biohazard for free, much less for $500. You can’t even appeal to my love of being green. Just burn it.
I’ll keep sleeping on the couch for now, thanks. I’m not nearly that desperate.
Pop Can Stove
Last night, my boyfriend and I tried a fun project. Out of four empty soda cans, we made two methanol-burning stoves, and it only took us a few minutes each. I became interested in the project while researching backpacking, an activity I’d very much like to get in to. Some backpackers use the pop can stove, and similar small stoves like tea-light stoves to cut weight from their packs.
I version we made required two empty soda cans, a wad of fiberglass insulation, methanol, silicon sealant, and a coin. Tools used were a safety pin, a hammer, scissors, and needle-nosed pliers. Instructions are easy to find, I got mine from a YouTube video (see helpful sources at the bottom.)
Lessons Learned:
- Wind is a problem and one that the mountains of Colorado doesn’t help.
- Use a towel or washcloth that you no longer care about as a mat to avoid getting safety pins, bits of soda can, fiberglass, safety pins, and silicon on your floor or desk.
- Use gloves to handle silicon.
- Feel free to modify the design to your liking.
- As fuel, I used methanol. Specifically, I used Heet, a fuel-line antifreeze which I found in the auto section of Walmart.
- I got the silicon sealant near home-improvement an paint .
- The fiberglass insulation is the only item I could not find at Walmart. I had to go to Lowes. At first I was discouraged to only find large bales of insulation in the home construction area (what was I expecting?) and nearly gave up. A tip for anyone looking for small amounts of insulation, go to the plumbing area.
Advantages:
- Easy to make. Going from memory after watching an instructional video on Youtube once, I was able to make the stove in a matter of minutes. After simply seeing my finished product, my boyfriend was able to quickly figure it out on his own.
- Cheap. You probably already have most of the supplies and tools needed to make this laying around your house and garage, and if not, they’re inexpensive to purchase.
- Recycling is a stonking great idea.
- Small. This thing is seriously tiny. It’s only the circumference of a soda can and a few inches tall. It won’t take up much room in your pack or your pocket, and could easily be stored inside another container such as your thermos or a cooking pot.
- Lightweight. Can be less than 30 g.
- Works great in cold and high altitude environments where propane and butane canisters might fail.
- Denatured alcohol, a fuel source, is relatively environmentally friendly to burn, however it’s poisonous if swallowed.
- Variant design. There are a few different versions of the pop-can stove, the design can be adapted to personal preference. For instance, most versions require a potstand (easy to make, btw) to hold the pot above the stove, but the side-burner variation serves as its own potstand. You can even design your stove to have larger flames by making it shorter, although doing so reduces fuel capacity.
- Reliable. According to one survey, if properly designed, this stove has a zero percent failure rate.
- Nearly silent operation.
- Just plain fun to make, a great thing to do with friends. Also, feeling like MacGyver is awesome.
- Easily blown out by wind. A windscreen is recommended.
- Most variations will require a pot stand, although some versions double as their own.
- Popular fuel sources are toxic and may be clear like water. Fuel containers should be clearly marked.
- Due to small size, it’s not recommended for cooking for more than two people, unless, of course, you wish to use multiple burners.
- Since alcohol has less energy per weight as other stove fuels, it’s not great for long trips. This stove will burn about twice the weight of fuel as other stoves. Buns one ounce of fuel about every five minutes.
- Not great for cooking in a hurry as it takes about five minutes to boil two cups of water.
- Prohibited by Boy Scouts of America policy of disallowing the use of homemade or modified stoves.
- May spill fuel. Never use it near anything flammable.
- Some components used to build it, such as silicon sealant and fiberglass insulation can irritate bare skin if touched.
Helpful Sources:
- The YouTube video I saw – How To Make A Penny Can Stove, Part 1, Part 2
- Wikipedia, Beverage Can Stove
- Epinions, Cooking With A Pepsi Can Stove
