Good points, greenguy :-) Unless you can get humans to stop generating garbage, you will never be able to do away with landfills completely. Not everything we throw out as waste is recyclable or compostable. And I'd venture to say commercial waste/garbage is a far bigger contributor to the problem than residential garbage production. And I'd avoid making generalizations about dumping of toxic wastes in landfills. I don't doubt that it HAS happened but I'd venture that it is an extremely limited occurrence. The EPA fines for illegal dumping of toxic wastes are enormous and can carry stiff prison terms as well. Rather than a blanket letter writing campaign, we would all be better served if we individually did our part in changing local practices. Focus on local municipalities and encourage recycling practices and organic waste recycling/composting. Make it a community outreach project. I am fortunate to live in an area that places a huge emphasis on recycling of all kinds. Local waste/transfer stations separate all recyclable products - old appliances, TV's and electronics, light bulbs, metal parts, car batteries and motor oil as well as the more common paper, plastic, tin and aluminum, and yard waste. In fact, ALL areas have curbside recycling for the common stuff and if it is not sorted and placed in the proper recycling pick-up container, you can be fined. Just last year, the yard waste recycling was expanded to include ALL domestic organic waste, including kitchen scraps and compostable food containers (like take-out and pizza boxes). This also includes all the organic waste generated by groceries and restaurants - they have the same recycling requirements. These get taken to a huge, state-of-the-art, commercial composting center and get converted to a highly desirable, certified compost product. Of course those who compost at home can still do so, but the alternative is out there for those who do not.

My bet is those people putting things out on the curb are doing so because, like palimsest, they can't sell it or give it away. I am in the same boat after cleaning out my parents' home. We left a lot of good things in the house (maple bureaus, glassware, chairs, decorative things) because we didn't have anywhere to put the furniture and it wasn't the really good antiques or sentimental stuff. Had we lived closer, we would have hired someone to hold an estate sale, but getting sister to come up from GA was impossible and we dared not sell anything unless she okayed it-oh well. We live in northern VA outside DC. Charities will not take furniture and people at yard sales are not going to pay anything near what something is worth. We put things on CL, no go. Just as an example, my son did end up selling our huge antique grandfather clock that had been in the family since the late 1800s and was valued at $10,000 by our clock guy who took care of it for 40 years in Bryn Mawr, PA. DS was able to get $4800. A local clock guy here looked at it and offered $1500. He just wasn't being honest. We went ahead because it was in a crate in the garage (too big for our house) and I hated to take a chance that it could be ruined. After he sold it, another potential buyer said he would have given us $6500-after telling us $4500 was as high as he could go. I wish we had never moved it and had sold it up there in PA. Very sad. I do like freecycle and CL because people always seem so pleased to get their "finds," but a lot of the truly valuable (talking mid-range valuable here as in thousands, but not tens of thousands) stuff is hard to get sold. I have one of a pair of cabinets (sister has other, but could probably get the other, too, if someone insisted on having the pair) with beautiful brown marble tops, inlaid wood designs on the doors and side, solid brass trim, etc. for which we can't find a home. They aren't in perfect condition, but they are in good condition. Consignment shops require that we deliver and this is too big and heavy for us to move, plus if it doesn't sell, we would have to pick it up! It really is no fun, is it? Too good to relegate to the garage, but not my style, so it stays where I see it and hate it everyday. I keep thinking that I could get new countertops if I could just sell it! LOL. I feel your pain palimpsest! Alas, don't have any solutions.

I use a pistol grip glass cutter. I haven't cut bottles in a long time, but when I did I used a cutter specifically for bottles. I reccomend that you post this question on the Stained Glass and Mosaic forum to get some great input. Link below. Here is a link that might be useful: Stained Glass and Mosaic Forum

Just south of where Brushworks lives, the only plastic the curbside pickup will recycle is bottles -- must be bottle shaped. No caps or lids. No sour cream, yogurt or margarine containers. No plastic bags -- it fouls their equipment. All paper/cardboard is wanted, except coated, shredded or dirty. Clean aluminum foil or disposable pans, otherwise only food/soda cans (but if you put your other metal trash at the curb the afternoon before trash day, a picker will likely take it.) Only glass bottles & jars, no broken windowpanes, mirrors, light bulbs, dinnerware. We don't have to remove labels. Lately there has been a bit of publicity surrounding the problem with batteries placed in the recycling bins starting fires in the sorting facility. The recycling facility sends letters to our homes twice each year with the "rules", the city and the company posts them on their facebook feeds every few months, it get mentioned on the news and in the newspapers and the neighborhood newsletter -- and as arkansasgirl has noticed, people clearly still don't know. I see not only plastic bags, but all kinds of trash & broken items that I guess folks hope will be recyclable because it has a bit of metal or plastic on it. I also see dead plants, food, rocks, construction debris -- surprising what some folks think can be recycled.