When you put an empty box in the trash do you tear it up first?
By ctrymuziklvr
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
United States
October 24, 2007 4:29pm CST
I used to put a whole box or water container in the trash when I was done with it until ...duh...I figured out they took up so much room in the waste basket and I was using more trash bags and having to make more trips to the dumpster! Finally I smartened up and now I tear the cereal boxes or whatever boxes apart and crush the water and milk containers so they don't take up so much room. Now my trash bags last longer and I make less trips to the dumpster! It took long enough for me to figure that one out...lol...
Do put boxes and containers in your trash just the way they are...empty..or do you tear them apart and crush them?
9 people like this
26 responses
@roniroxas (10559)
• Philippines
24 Oct 07
i dont tear it but i fold it. it can be used at the recycle center so i dont tear it. hear in our place we do segregate the trash or else they will not collect it. i used to tear up boxes but they say that the boxes can be recycled so from then on i just fold it.
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
25 Oct 07
I think boxes are the only thing we don't recycle around here. Everything else we do.
@roniroxas (10559)
• Philippines
25 Oct 07
actually i dont know what they do with the boxes but they want to collect it folded. and they pile it up and tie it.
1 person likes this
@raychill (6525)
• United States
24 Oct 07
I recycle.
So I always wash out milk jugs and the put them in a plastic grocery bag and throw them out in the recycling bin.
I also flatten all of my cardboard boxes and place them neatly in a paper bag that I keep behind my trash can. I have a very small trash can also. like the size one would normally have in a bathroom or by a desk.
So my trash can fills up pretty fast without the added milk jugs and boxes.
2 people like this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
25 Oct 07
There are a lot of things we don't recycle around here and probably should start doing. I think a lot has to do with our city and providing and picking up the bins.
@raychill (6525)
• United States
25 Oct 07
Yeah it sucks if you don't have someone to come pick up your recycling...and you dont' drive. If you did, there are usually drop off centers located in a bunch of places so you can just drop off the recycling.
It's amazing how much less trash you have if you recycle.
1 person likes this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
25 Oct 07
oh yes... i always try to save up space as much as i can so i always tear up the boxes or fold them so that they consume less space... but since i know that cardboard can be recycled, i just fold them nicely so that the recycling centre can re-used them again...
2 people like this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
25 Oct 07
I think we need more recycling centers in my area. There are none for cardboard.
@talisman (1300)
• United States
24 Oct 07
I always break down boxes before putting them in the trash can. If I didn't, my garbage bags would get full quickly, I'd be going down to the dumpster more, and the manager at our apartment building would complain. If we have a big box (like the ones they pack your stuff in at places like Costco), we usually just take that to the trash separately. I also crush milk containers and any other container that is able to be compressed. It just saves room and time.
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
25 Oct 07
I've been crushing the milk and water containers lately too. They take up too much room in the bucket.
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
25 Oct 07
Yes, ctry, I break everything down before it goes into the trash. I guess it's just a habit, but I am obsessive about saving space. Like you, I find it easier to take my trash out a couple times a week rather than daily. If I have leftover food items I keep a large plastic bag in the fridge and add to it as needed. Once I am ready to take my trash out I simply grab the food bag and drop it into the container.
2 people like this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
25 Oct 07
I keep a plastic bag by the sink with my garbage and when it's ready I just run out back to the dumpster with it. I see it as exercise...lol...
@copperkitten (3473)
• United States
25 Oct 07
I also crush the boxes and cartons. I dont like that they take up so much room. I usually keep one box whole and put all the smaller boxes broken down in it. Then they only take up the space of one cereal box.
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
26 Oct 07
At my house we recycle cardboard boxes and I sometimes knock them down and sometimes I don't.It all depends on how busy I am at the time.If I am too busy to knock it down, I don't.
@beauty_ph (2749)
• Philippines
24 Oct 07
When it can occupy too much space then I try the same thing, tearing. But in our office, I do not care much as long as it can still get thru our trash. Most boxes often occupy a lot of space and its true it takes much room in each trash containers.
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
25 Oct 07
I find it amazing how much room a small box can take up when put in the trash.
@CatsandDogs (13963)
• United States
25 Oct 07
Yup I sure do! I learned that years ago from watching my best friend throw trash in the trash can after stepping on them or tearing it up. I thought, "Gee, that's smart!" and started doing it myself and found it takes up less space and it's much less trips to the big bin by the road (long driveway) and the trash bags that I bought last longer. Even coke bottles or milk containers are crushed then the lid put back on so they won't take shape again.
1 person likes this
@erickrubio (624)
• Philippines
28 Oct 07
Ctrymuziklvr, i tear the whole box and crush the water and milk container to save spaces in the trash bin.
@andyliuzn (1029)
• Guangzhou, China
27 Oct 07
Yes, I do, and I think that brings convenience for the cleaner.
Andy
@chris57455 (283)
• United States
25 Oct 07
I dont tear them up, but i do break them down as much as i can so it takes up less space in the trash can.
@crazy_ol_lady (1014)
• United States
25 Oct 07
hi ctry,
I always take my boxes apart and fold them up so they take up less space in the garbage can. I have a standard container, so if I need to put more stuff in the garbage, I need to pack it in tighter. Mild jugs are squeezed flat and the lid put back on so they take up less space too.
Happy posting..
@sherrir101 (3670)
• Malinta, Ohio
25 Oct 07
I was taught at a young age to do this. My dad was always doing it. And he would tear the boxes in 'very' small pieces. LOL I think it is one more way of trying to be frugal. If it can be broke down or crushed, I will do it.
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
25 Oct 07
If they are big boxes like cereal ones then I rip them up or stomp them down. As for milk containers I just leave them as they are.
@nancyrowina (3850)
•
25 Oct 07
I crush or tear everything I can to save room in the bin, I live in a top flat and have to carry all my bin bags down flights of stairs so the fewer the better really. And of course it's better for the environment to use less plastic bags and crush everything as small as possible.
@MarieJ23 (1040)
• United States
25 Oct 07
As for me, it depends on the size of the box. If it is too big and would occupy a big space then I usually cut it or tear it; however, if it is small I just put it there right away. For bottles, if they are big, I took them out separately but if it is small I put it together with the other trash.
@iTTYBiTTY (8)
• United States
25 Oct 07
I use to tear them up when I used trash bags in the garbage but now everyone in the city has the use the same trash cans and they're huge. So we just throw everything whole in there now.
