As I am writing this, it’s six months until my 67th birthday. So, if we go back to when I was about five or six years old, I started thinking about trash…not really trash but recycling.
A new program in our community (which was a small farming community in southeastern Wisconsin) adopted a trial trash receptacle. It was a green metal stand about 4-feet tall. A clear green garbage bag fit into it. At this time in my life, I don’t know the purpose behind it other than it was supposed to replace our round metal trash cans. I can’t remember how long we used it or why it simply disappeared one day, but I think that was the start of me becoming a mini tree-hugger!
Fast forward all these years and as far as I know I’m the only person in my circle of family and friends that recycles the way I do. First, any bottle, can, or jar gets rinsed and then washed in hot soapy water with the other dishes. This also removes the labels. Cardboard boxes get broken down after I remove any of my shipping information. I also recycle the little square plastic containers that my annuals or perennials come in.
The long and short of it is that I actually take that extra second or two before throwing something away to determine if it’s recyclable.
When you come home from the grocery store, most likely you have the plastic produce bags that hold your apples, oranges, and assorted veggies. I haven’t used those in years because I purchased washable, reusable produce bags to reduce the amount of plastic bags that come into my house. For over twenty years now I’ve used washable canvas grocery bags to avoid all the plastic bags from the grocery store. If any plastic bags do come in my house, they go in a large plastic bag, that when full, is recycled at the local grocery store.
Zip Lock bags. Great invention. Handy. Convenient. Billions are in the landfills every year. When I was a kid, and some of you may remember this, your mom and / or grandma washed bread bags and other plastic bags and reused them. I don’t go that far but I do recycle all of those types of plastic bags…and I purchased silicone zip lock bags, wash them, and reuse them.
All of this sounds good in theory except that most friends and family that I know do not do any of this. Plastic bags go in with the regular trash. Bottles, cans, and boxes go in the regular trash. When I see this while at someone’s house, it bothers me, but I can’t tell other people what to do with their recyclables. I did once and the friends invited me to come to their house once a week, sort through their trash, and separate everything. I declined.
One friend went to far as to ask me if I know what happens to all of my recycled items once the garbage / recycling truck hauls them away. I don’t. I assumed that the truck carrying the recycled items drives to the recycling center, drops them off, and then some process is followed to clean and process these items for reuse.
In the last several years I’ve had a couple of family members point out to me, as well as show me online articles related to recycling, that only 8% of cardboard, tin, plastic, glass, etc., is actually recycled. EIGHT LOUSY PERCENT!
I’m dumbfounded. First, when you’re me and doing all this label removing, washing, and preparing items for recycling…and nobody else that I know is…I’m spinning my wheels. I’m not doing this because I’m some big Save The Earth heroine. I’m doing it because I was asked to by our community. But…if others aren’t following this to the letter of the law, why should I?
To me this is no different than yielding to the car on your right…or going 55mph if that’s the speed limit…or paying your taxes…or obeying any other God or man-made law in our society. Simply…why wouldn’t you?
All of this has become second nature to me for more than half of my life and I just do it without thinking…but why should I? I’m seriously considering not doing this anymore. The population of the United States is approximately 340 million. If…IF less than one-fourth (for arguments sake) is recycling like I do, the landfills are still filling up and will continue to do so until this is taken seriously. There are more people, more products, more ‘throw-away and buy new’ attitudes than ever before. One person is not going to make a difference. It takes a village.
Ok…I’m off my soapbox.
Back to Basics 