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Think of doing a little "gardening," but not sure how plastic buckets would hold up. Has anyone burried plasitc buckets and left for a few years? How did they hold up?

I'd think heavy duty PVC pipe would hold up a lot better with caps on each end and buried deep enough so that metal detectors couldn't register a reading. I remember speaking with a man from California who had a bunch buried in his backyard. I always wondered what he would have done if an earthquake shifted the position of his holdings. I don't claim to have any personal knowledge here, so you should get a second opinion before spending any money. And watch out for any drones flying overhead when you are burying your precious stash. It is amazing that we have to be so careful on our own properties now...

The buckets are not the problem; the lids are.

I find they become brittle in the garage, even when not exposed to UV. Buried, they might do better...not sure if there's any science to back that up.

If I were going to use buckets I'd slide one inside another, doubling up the wall strength, and use vacuum sealed bags for whatever I was stashing inside.

PVC on the other hand has been excavated after 50 years and found to be 100%. Some estimates say PVC underground might last 1000 years.

Which is good, cause I buried some "items" on my property on Cape Breton in 2005, figuring it was better than taking my chances at the border crossings back and forth. Then I unexpectedly spur of the moment sold the land 6 months later. Doh!!

Can't believe that it's been ten years since I've been back.

You might consider going to an Army/Navy surplus store and asking what they have. They likely have something that can be buried underground for a long time that might provide safe and perhaps airtight/watertight storage.

I've done some research on this plastic/PVC storage. I like the pickle barrels that you can get from Firehouse Subs. Food grade, yes they do smell like pickles but your food you store inside won't taste like pickles
However, the PVC pipe. I've heard that any metals stored underground in PVC will corrode. The PVC off gases something that reacts to metals (wonder about effects to other stuff, ie food...). My findings suggest going with the black sewer/water pipe, yet its hard to get the ends sealed up because the pipe isn't flat (wavy like).
I would agree with wrapping up whatever you put inside. I would think glass would be good to store food inside the bucket. I would like to do research on storing items (food) in plastics long term. I have heard a lot lately about how women shouldn't drink water from plastic water bottles that have been in your car for long periods.
Something to ponder.

I have no idea what buckets are at the bottom of the pond!!

You could try something under the above ground pool.. Maybe a 2 gal inside of the 5 gal.. 10 years and counting. Maybe in another 5 or so when the new one goes in we'll see how they hold up. Err... Wondering how that safe is doing... Lol

Bucketgirl wrote:However, the PVC pipe. I've heard that any metals stored underground in PVC will corrode. The PVC off gases something that reacts to metals (wonder about effects to other stuff, ie food...).

Gee. "Polyvinyl chloride"

Wonder what the problem might be.