Well, I'll admit what Anonymous commented on my last entry is true . . . things are complicated when it comes to environmental issues. And I don't imagine my lawn mower is a perfect solution to a huge problem . . . not hardly. Even little steps forward I consider positive and so just cutting down on noise pollution is a small step in the right direction.
That in mind, moving to my new home town has been a fascinating study in garbage. When I lived in the Wasteland, I was horrified at what I saw people putting curbside to throw away. In that town, you put it out, the garbage collectors will take it away . . . so it makes people lazy about their garbage. In DC, the cans were small and they wouldn't take big items so you had to find another option and PERHAPS that meant more people donated their gently used goods or sold them online or had a yard sale. Still better options than right to the dump. At least in both towns they had curbside recycling.
Not in my new home town - oh no! In fact, the city isn't in charge of garbage here like every other place I've lived. Here, you have to find a private waste collector to take your garbage and if you're lucky, they'll offer recycling for an extra fee. And because it isn't EASY and costs more (really, the fee is small), I see loads of plastic, paper, and glass filling the 96 gallon garbage bins curbside. It makes me sick.
So I called my garbage collector to ask about what they offer in recycling. Fortunately, they do offer it, but UNFORTUNATELY they take very little in the way of recyclables. Only plastics 1 & 2, paper (no cardboard), aluminum, and glass. Better than nothing for sure, but not as extensive as even the Wasteland.
So I started checking around and there is a recycling hotline here which is great. I called and found out they have several recycling centers in town and they take pretty much everything except Styrofoam. So I decided to do it the "hard way" and make my own recycling runs.
First I needed some bins, and I found some great stackable bins that hold a lot at one of the myriad of superstores in town. I got three and they sit neatly in my kitchen and collect my recyclable stuff. It's amazing how quickly they fill up and how slowly my garbage bag fills up.
So after all my unpacking (I had a TON of damaged boxes and stuffing paper to get rid of, as well as over two weeks worth of plastic and glass), yesterday I decided to get rid of it all. I packed up my new car and though it holds a LOT, I couldn't get it all in so I knew I needed to take two trips.
I'll be honest. I figured I would be nearly the only one at the center mid-day on a Wednesday. I had little hope this town cared much based on the garbage bins I pass on my daily walks with Zoe. Was I ever pleasantly surprised when I saw at least 10 other vehicles there whose owners were unloading their beer cans, wine bottles, newspapers, and yard waste. I felt like the Grinch when his heart grew three times! Seriously . . . I was thrilled.
So I unloaded the tons of broken down boxes and packing paper and got back in my car to return again. I was so pleased with how easily the bins unstacked even full and fit into my car with the last of the paper and boxes. And off I went for another recycling run.
Once again, the place was busy with all sorts of folks taking care of their mother earth in their own small ways. And who knew eye candy would be present as a bonus? Yup, one hot man was unloading his truck. Does the heart good.
Now Anonymous might argue that the gas burned by all these folks getting to the center is a waste and he's right. It would make more sense to have curbside recycling as extensive as the center. It would make sense to have MANDATORY curbside recycling or your garbage won't be picked up. Portland, Maine, has a great system: you have to BUY your garbage bags but your recycling bags are free. Damn if I wouldn't try to fill those free bags first!
I get the issue is complicated or complex. But once again, it's the small things that make me feel as if I'm doing my part. I ride my bike to work weather permitting, I still have my house open to fresh air and it's almost July, and I make recycling runs. It's truly the least I can do.
2 comments:
Actually, Anon would applaud your personal activities and if you limit the trip to one every 2 weeks (which may be difficult) you are doing everyone a huge favor.
Here's the facts on curbside recycling: That Ugly, smelly, dirty diesel recycling truck is awful for the environment. In my old town, that truck made the rounds to every house once a week. The number of people who actually recycled was dismal. Our bins were overflowing every week (forget that there were lots of wine bottles taking up most of the space, but that isn't relevant to this discussion)
Yet every week, that truck made the full rounds...when the reality is that if it picked up only where it needed to, it would only hit about 25% of it's route.
Here's a reality that we (the universal "we") need to fully embrace: We are lazy...if they don't come get it from our door, we'd just as soon toss it in the trash.
The little amount of gas/carbon emissions used/produced in a quick delivery is negligible when compared to the huge footprint of that curbside pickup behemoth truck. So you should feel good about your carefully considered personal recycling habits...Hooray for you!
It's all so complicated....but the proper course of action is usually quite easy....you know what the right thing to do is....that's a universal "you"...all it takes is a 3 second glance at the item you're about to toss to see if it has the recycle symbol on it.
My old town was pretty limited about the things it would accept in the bins, but after asking the truck driver...he told me that while they (the city) only officially recycled the approved types...all recyclables were welcomed because the city actually sorts and sells what it cannot manage to the proper capable recycler.
Good to know.
Keep up the good work...maybe when you get to know your neighbors you can work out a deal to transport their stuff as well...or maybe your block could work out a rotating schedule, or kick in a few bucks for the guy with the truck to do it for everyone on the block.....
As much as I hate some things about NYC, our recycling progrma seems to be working well...of course, it could just be that I don't see it...
Brian
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