Garbage! We all have it and have to get rid of it (or become hoarders in danger of being buried alive). There are many methods for disposal. Most are routine. Some are creative. Someone said, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Our ancestors had fewer possessions so less garbage. They used everything until it was gone! Today, archaeologists and anthropologists learn lots by studying the trash of civilizations.
In cities or towns, we sign up for sanitation services providing wheeled recyclable and garbage bins to roll to the street for weekly pick-up.
Recycling is commendable and often enforceable. Some ways of recycling trash are creative and brilliant. (Sorry, I don’t have a photo to show.)
I own a gorgeous hand-blown glass globe with volcanic ash in it from Mount St. Helen’s 1980 eruption. More astounding is collecting pieces of genuine moose poo to sell as Alaskan moose nugget souvenirs. A gift shop in Ketchikan hand paints them, attaches Christmas tree ornament hooks, and sells four unique decorations for $4.95. 
That’s as clever as Tom Sawyer having Huckleberry Finn comp him for the privilege of using the bucket and brush to whitewash the fence. This isn’t a Mark Twain quote, but I think the conversation went like this.
Huck watches Tom slap whitewash on the fence, making it look like sheer delight. Huck shifts from foot to foot, eager to get his hands on the brush. “Please, Tom?”
Tom leans back, eying his friend. “What will you give me?”
And a deal is made.
I haven’t found a way to sell my garbage yet, but each summer I’m one person at our small Minnesota farm so produce little trash. I send it to town with my older son when he visits for him to add to his weekly service. But sometimes it’s easier to dispose of it locally. I drop my small bag into a service station container or sidewalk trash barrel. There’s another near the library. And in front of the grocery store.
But then behind the store I saw two giant semi-truck sized bins with almost nothing in them. In our barn, I had empty paper 50-lb. dairy supplement feed bags, a bit awkward to send to town. I drove to the local grocery, deposited them in the large bin, and noticed an employee sitting nearby having a cigarette. We didn’t speak. After I went inside and started shopping, the lady manager approached.
“Did you just deposit something in our outside bin?”
“Yes.”
“Do you do that often?”
“No.”
“Some people have brought six full bags at a time.”
Without describing my contribution, I assured her that wasn’t me.
Minutes later, she returned.
“One more thing? Are body parts involved?
“No!”
Next, I told her my story of garbage bags with frozen moose hides being brought inside by mistake to a home where college kids and I on a research trip were staying overnight for the first time. The bags thawed overnight and puddled blood in the family’s kitchen. That led to interesting conversation but I’ll save the details for another post.
How do you dispose of garbage? How do you stay out of trouble? I obviously need instruction.
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