Garden Box #1: The Case for Recycling Baling Twine

Posted by Jeremy in environment, frugality, gardening, self-reliance, simple living

I was on my way to Home Depot the other day with a couple things on my list. One of them - twine.

I needed something to tie up my tomatoes in our little garden box. I figured that jute twine would be a great way to go - it is mage of natural fibers, it's biodegradable, and it doesn't look too bad.

However, while wandering the aisles at Home Depot, and this gets me in more trouble than I should admit, I had an epiphany. We'd been discussing the idea of the Compact quite a bit and I thought, "What else do I have that I could use?"

The answer hit me like a bale of hay. Actually that's what hit me, bales of hay. They come wrapped in a string. Unfortunately, the string on the bales I get are nylon and therefore normally bound for the landfill. But, I thought what a way to reuse something that otherwise would have a short life span.

With the rabbitry in full swing, we tend to go through a bale or two a month. I am sure that three 10-foot cords a month would keep pace with our growing tomatoes.

So that's what I did. Those strings will get to enjoy another 3-4 month's of meaningful existence, and I will get to enjoy another $2-3 and the satisfaction of knowing that I did my small share to help reduce waste this week.