Just curious...

[FloridaRecycled]

I'm just wondering...there is a lot of talk about finding the "newer" stuff (I'm talking 50-60-70 +) stuff when digging and it not being worth anything and it gets thrown back in...all the talk about bromo's, and vick's, etc. and how common they are...

Since almost nothing is being made in glass anymore...it's all plastic...wouldn't it be wise to not discard or re-bury all that? I mean - won't those items be all that future generations have to look forward to? What will we be leaving behind? Is there any items you can think of that are utilized now that might be the holy grail of the future?

Heck - soda's and vinegar and food and milk and ??? - most all of it is plastic...

Just curious...

 

[FloridaRecycled]

You're right...putting it in perspective there was less people...mostly handmade...definitely not the mass production we have today...I guess it just makes me sad to think that one day - there will be nothing to find in "our" layer of dumps except for styrofoam!

 

[jays emporium]

Generally that newer stuff is worthless and will always be worthless because they made so much of it. There are some exceptions though, especially soda bottles. I used to think the same thing about No Deposit No Return bottles and now some of those are collectible and actually bring good money. Also, painted label sodas from the 50's and 60's have some character and are now highly collectible.
For future generations of bottle collectors though, there will still be a large supply of vintage bottles available for them. After we die the bottles will still be here and they will go back into circulation. Estate sales is my biggest source of old bottles now and it is sure to remain that way.

 

[Jim]

It's hard to tell what might be collectible years from now. I find it almost impossible to think that the empty glass pickle and olive jars, Lipton tea bottles and Sam Adams beer bottles that I throw out will ever be wanted by anyone. Then again, the people of the 1850s probably never imagined that someone like me would be digging out their outhouses and trash pits to recover what they threw out, either.

Older collector friends of mine remember digging back in the 1960s and 70s, and throwing away embossed 1920s and 30s local milk bottles because nobody wanted them. Now, those same "junkers" will cost anywhere from $10 to several hundred each.

While I still can't imagine anyone wanting screw-cap ketchups, unembossed crown top beers and even older, mold-blown 1890s slickers which are also plentiful, who really knows? If those future collectors ever decide that they do, they will enjoy my dug pits, as I try not to smash the "clunkers" when I put them back into the pit to be buried, because they fill more space so less dirt will need to be brought in to level up the pit site after it sinks. Some of them do get broken, but much of what I bury goes back whole.

I have to admit, if I ever dig a 15-foot pit and find nothing but a screw-top slicker at the bottom, I would have to smash it in disgust []. ~Jim

 

[baltbottles]

Sam adams in a pit there will be a few Honey Porters in the botom of the other nights pit for the future. lol

Chris

 

[pyshodoodle]

In my opinion, anything that is garbage now, at some point will end up being collectible years from now. How much stuff do you see at flea markets that you remember from your childhood? OK - you have to reach a certain age for that to start happening, but I'm only 43... this is when age hits you - went you start seeing this stuff at flea markets! [&:]
With recycling what it is these days, the items will not be as common as I think others on the forum expect them to be. Not to mention, garbage trucks compact stuff and haul it all to giant landfills. Not sure if the stuff survives in tact.
Case in point:
Anyone remember this?

 

[bottle_head9]

Mmmmmm. How bout some chips with that cream cheese.[] I agree, look at action figures and lunch boxes.Anything that lasts 40 years unopened in it`s original package will be collectable.

 

[appliedlips]

I say, jam as much trash into your attic and basement just in case it is worth something.[] My mother in law is a packrat and her favorite saying is " they don't make em like that anymore".. No they sure don't and most of time it is for good reason.

 

[KentOhio]

I remember some diggers telling me about a hole they dug in the 70s that was filled with hundreds of milk bottles. At that time milk bottles were trash, so they reburied all of them.

 

[coboltmoon]

Vicks and Bromos have some value now but not much. If you save them they will grow in value but not by much. In my opinion it is not worth the trouble or space to store them.