Exactly. In fact, I’d say many preppers have thought too much about defense, or rather, put too much emphasis on peripheral defense issues. They collect tons of tactical gadgets and camouflage outfits and prepare plans for tactical patrols through their backyard, and yet don’t think much about things like garbage disposal.
Ammo and food would be the new currency. I put them in that order because if you don’t have ammo, you can’t protect yourself or your food. If it ever happens, I expect to be able to barter ammo for food.
I did. I got four 55 gallon drums to burn my trash in if it becomes necessary. And I live in the city.
When life gets down to the lowest common denominator in simplicity, garbage SHOULD tend to also diminish. - Much of our garbage now is elaborate packaging, and for many newspapers and magazines - which should also diminish. (We take our old newspaper stacks to a local auction house for people to use for packing material for their purchases.)
When I was a kid, garbage was real sparse. Meat packages were either simple or just plain burnable butcher’s paper. We used few tin cans and glass jars. Daddy burned our trash in a big old metal barrel. We didn’t get newspapers much. Fast food was limited to a local Dairy Queen ice cream cone every now and then. Didn’t have paper towels or paper napkins and toilet paper (used Sears & Roebuck’s catalogs).
I live near Seattle. If the SHTF I have an entire city as a garbage dump ;-)