Can one store sandbags? (1 Viewer)

[Jay H]

Thinking of the folks out in North Dakota, just has me curious about sandbags. Can/Do the people that deal with river flooding store the sandbags somewhere where they wont freeze or suffer from UV degradation of the sandbag material. Maybe there are some sandbags that could be salvaged after using... Would this be possible, practical, affordable?

I've never really actually seen a sandbag, not sure what material they are made out of. Would seem to reduce the mad rush of sandbag brigades every spring, at least...

Jay

 

[Chris Lockwood]

They're usually made of the finest burlap, which doesn't last long. Pick one up that's been outside a while, and you'll have a chest full of sand.

 

[Jay H]

I imagine those burlap bags, once they get wet are useless, but perhaps they could make them out of something that could be reused so they don't have to pack sandbags like mad every spring... Costs might be prohibitive or they assume that manpower/volunteers are cheap and people don't mind making sandbags constantly.... If it costs too much, then one would think it could be better spent fixing the problem... Just some thought...

It just seems like there is a better way..

Jay

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

If there were, someone probably would have thought of it by now.

It isn't like the same parts of the same rivers flood every year. Filled sandbags would have to be stored somewhere, which costs money. They might sit idle for years on end. They also weigh a hell of a lot more than empty sandbags, so they take more labor, more time and more fuel to move from storage to the point where they're needed. (And more trucks, since fewer filled sandbags than empty ones will fit in a truck.) Since you can't deploy them by mechanical means, you need at least as many people to put them in place as you would, with empty ones, maybe more since you have to carry heavy filled bags from the point where the truck drops them to the point where they are used. Much cheaper and more efficient to deliver empty bags to the point where they're needed and have volunteers fill them on site.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Chris Lockwood]

I've filled, hauled, and "installed" sandbags. Trust me, they (filled ones) aren't something you want to keep laying around in case you need them a few months or years later.

It's probably a lot cheaper in the long run to make them from a cheap, plentiful material like burlap and have to produce more each time, than to try to make more permanent ones.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Not to mention the cheap, plentiful materials known as sand and volunteer labor. (Provided by people who are very eager not to become flood victims.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[Colton]

You know what feels like bags of sand?

 

[Jay H]

Bags of Silica?

If I could send all the silica in the world over there... I would!

Jay

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Er, everybody does know that sand mostly is silica, right?

Joe

 

[Clinton McClure]

Boobs, according to the 40 year old virgin.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

The bags aren't made of sand, any more than a hamburger bun is made of hamburger... so I'm not sure what your point is.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

They're NOT???? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you for telling me that. I was so confused.



Burlap bags aren't "sandbags" until they're filled with, um, sand. Up until that point, they're just burlap bags, as apt to be filled with coffee beans or grain as anything else. Since this discussion is about the practicality of storing pre-filled sandbags, I was just pointing out that in addition to it being cheaper not to try to make permanent, storable bags pre-filled with sand and stored in some warehouse, it is also cheaper to have the burlap bags filled mostly by people who aren't being paid to do the work.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

At least Girl Scout cookies are made from real Girl Scouts.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

And don't even get me started on baby oil.

Joe