As most of you may be aware, I am a closeted hippie. I don't wear tie dye, or hemp, or listen to The Grateful Dead. I do buy recycled water bottle purses and I am borderline psychotic about recycling.
Our recycling program is completely lame out here. I can only recycle category 1 and 2 plastics. This fact alone drives me batty. I have to throw away whole piles of plastic! I cry a little inside when I relegate a category 5 plastic to it's circular bin of death.
Anyway, the recycling has made a huge dent in our trash bin. It's barely half full by the time the garbage truck comes around, which is twice weekly. If it didn't smell so bad (ewww, diapers!) I would say we could cut the garbage runs down to once a week!
The recycling truck, however comes a measly every other Friday. Recycling builds up in my garage. The pitiful containers they provide are too small. And I went out and bought more containers- but they get stolen every time- along with all the soda cans. Someone in my neighborhood literally goes through my recycling, takes out all the aluminum to sell back at 5 cents a piece and then, unable to carry such a large load, runs off with my bin- his new bin... of cans. Infuriating.
But alas, this is not what is currently driving me crazy. Last recycling pick up, I was deathly ill and having a bad day. I forgot to take the recycling to the curb. It has now been three weeks since our last pickup, and I've got a whole week more to go. The recycling has completely taken over the garage. Do you know what sound a milk jug makes when you run over it with your car? I do. And I thought my transmission exploded. Scared me to death.
I trip over the cardboard boxes I've assigned for emergency recycling holding. I trip over these every time I'm loading the kids into the car.
The husband suggests that I just throw all of it away! I simply cannot do it. What a terrible and horrible waste it would be.
... and I've been stubbing my toe on this crap for three weeks. It is going in that recycling truck... oh yes.
AMEN! We've been there! Ryan and I have an ongoing battle about this- the bins are too measley- we have a neighbor who steals our cans too (And it's frusterating- I don't care that she rifles through it to take- but when I forget the occasional can and need to run out to the bins, she's there and I feel like I can't put my own can in my own bin!) and TWO WEEKS! I believe more people would recycle if it were weekly- and I have caught Ryan (when recycling has gotten a little out of control and we can't walk through our garage)throwing away the recycling! we now have an agreement where it 'can't get out of control' which invovles me smashing everything I possibly can into the smallest form it can possibly be- sigh- I'll jin the closeted hippie movement with ya:) I don't wear birkenstocks but I do love to recycle!
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