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TheDoughboy
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# Posted: 18 Feb 2012 16:39 - Edited by: TheDoughboy
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Hello all!
I have been lurking the forums for a couple weeks now. So I registered today to ask a question I could not find the answer to in the archives.
My wife and I are planning to build a cabin (about 700sf) in Washington state in the next few years, then move into it Full time after our daughter is out of school and on her own.
So I am doing research about the aspects of cabin life, on and off the grid. What do Off Gridders do about their trash? Paper can be burnt in a barrel, plastics and metal recycled and hauled into the town dump I guess. What about storing it away safely from nosy bear noses until it's time to dump it?
What about food scraps, I do not plan to have a garden and won't need compost for one. If you have pics of your trash/recycle setup that would be great 
Thanks!
Ron
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Just
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# Posted: 18 Feb 2012 18:34
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we take ours to a county landfill . recycle free, garbage 1$ a bag ..
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 18 Feb 2012 19:49 - Edited by: turkeyhunter
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burn barell for paper and ANYTHING that will burn....
metal cans / etc recycle center / dump in town.
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TheDoughboy
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# Posted: 18 Feb 2012 20:05
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Thanks for the replies.
Lets say you are 2-3 hours from a dump/landfill/recycle center... How do you store the metal items (soup cans, pet food cans, soda-beer cans) and not attract bears or other wildlife?
I don't think I'd want to waste water by rinsing stuff out all the time. Just trying to figure it out now since were in planning state now.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 18 Feb 2012 20:59
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We use open head barrels with tight fitting lids secured with locking bands. The true garbage is placed in there in the bags we place the trash in in the cabin. It goes to the dump as schedules permit. The recycleables all get rinsed to avoid stickiness and smelliness, then hauled to the recycle center.
Soiled paper and cardboard go in the true trash most of the time as too much of the year burning is a forest fire hazard/risk.
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hattie
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# Posted: 18 Feb 2012 23:21 - Edited by: hattie
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We have a burn barrel for anything that can be burned.
We compost all our coffee grounds, tea leaves, fruit and veggie scraps, and egg shells. Even if you aren't going to have a garden, you could still do this and just empty the compost onto low spots on your property (just a thought). We actually have 2 composters. One is the "active" one that we add to daily and the other is the one from the previous year that is "cooking". After the compost breaks down, we dump it and it becomes the "active" composter and the other one is the composter that sits and "cooks".
Recyclables are taken to the recycle part of the dump in the next town over. We donate pop cans, beer cans and bottles, etc. to the volunteer fire dept. to raise money for them.
Regular garbage goes in a garbage can in our shed. The plastic can has a lid on it and the shed door is secured shut. We do get bears in town but have never had one try to bust into the shed. Some of our neighbours have had their sheds broken into by bears but I don't know if their garbage was in covered garbage cans. I wouldn't suggest keeping trash in your cabin when you aren't there. Bears could break in and do a LOT of damage.
I believe old timers used to burn their cans to get the food smells out of them rather than rinse them.
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coffeekittie
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# Posted: 19 Feb 2012 04:50
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Hi! I agree with Hattie that it doesn't matter if you desire a garden or not - composting anything and everything that will rot is not only easy and economical, but environmentally sound. I also live in Washington State, and the county I live in officially recommends this.
You do need a strong and secure "compost containment" system  to keep animals out. I use pallets grounded by T-posts pounded deep into the ground, lined with plywood (it's what I had available - any sort of solid, strong liner will do) and covered with a hinged and latched top. Makes a heavy and effective compost holder, that can be erected in a couple hours and even taken apart and moved if necessary.
With thoughtful shopping, very little garbage is left over to have to deal with. I reuse what containers I can (shop at local Co-op where I can use them), and recycle most everything else. I make maybe a small grocery-sized bag of garbage a month. Easy to store and dispose of when convenient.
Hope this helps! I'll be living on my property in upper NE Washington in a few years too
Parker
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spicyacres
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# Posted: 19 Feb 2012 09:47
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Even if you're not planning to garden, I'd strongly suggest you start a hugelkultur raised bed. It's sort of like a long compost mound, where you're burying brush, branches, logs, compostables, paper, cardboard, etc. In a few years you'll have an incredibly rich and till-free raised bed where you can plant some perrenial plants and you'll be gardening with very little effort.
More info here:
http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/
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TheDoughboy
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# Posted: 20 Feb 2012 13:41
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Sweet, thanks for the ideas!
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