A viral Reddit post shows how to refurbish a roadside grill as simply and efficiently as possible.
The original poster uploaded the information on the popular Reddit community r/Anticonsumption. The post shows a before picture of a rusted old grill and an after photo of the poster's spectacular repair. It is so impressive it caught the attention of several thousand Reddit users.
"$13, an hour of my time, and a good amount of material kept out of a landfill. I love refurbishing things!" said the post.
Items such as the grill in question require energy to be produced, which means more harmful pollution that goes into the atmosphere and warms the planet.
Certain metals are made up of inorganic pollutants that can end up in our waters, soils, and the atmosphere if melted down. Across the globe, 60 tons of household waste are thrown out every second (or more than 2 billion tons each year), and this number is expected to go up 73% by 2050.
Many developed countries, like the U.S., export their waste to developing nations, where low-wage workers may melt down used metal appliances, which can then be used to produce new goods or the residue may be dumped into the ocean.
Not only can refurbishing and reusing household items such as grills save you a lot of money (a decent grill is not cheap), it can also be highly beneficial for the environment.
By extending the lifespan of an old grill instead of buying a new one, you are preventing more steel from being produced, transported, and eventually discarded into a landfill or dumped into the ocean.
Reddit users had plenty to say about the old grill turned new.
"You did an amazing job and inspired me to save it from the dump!" said one commenter about their own neglected grill.
"Man, I love curb shopping. I have 2 really nice wood cabinets from my neighborhood bulk trash curbs. Some beautiful aloe vera plants. A really nice enamel kitchen sink and faucet," another wrote.
Perhaps one of the most useful comments was concise and to the point. "We should do a better job of normalizing this behavior," wrote the Redditor.
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