Like most people, I do my best to be environmentally conscious. I still remember the days when Dad or Grandpa would change the oil in their vehicles and then dump the oil in the alley. And really, those days weren’t so long ago.
The sad fact is that since humans first appeared on the scene, no one really thought about long term effects on the environment until recently. There were no studies done, or records kept, and it was really an out of sight – out of mind scenario. Now that we have seen long term effects of pollution, many steps have been taken to help preserve the world we live in.
You’ve heard the term Reduce Re-Use Recycle many times, and I think most people have the first two of those fairly figured out, but when it comes to recycling, I feel that we are falling short. In some European countries they recycle so well that even the simple act of disposing a tea bag takes four steps… The tea goes in the compost pile, the tea bag goes in the garbage, the string goes into recycling and the small staple goes into metal recycling. They recycle so well that some countries have had garbage shortages. Yes, garbage shortages. Some of those countries burn the garbage to generate heat and electricity to the point that demand outstrips supply. The good news for them is that other countries actually pay them to take their garbage, so they actually make money on it.
Meanwhile here in our part of the world, people can’t even read simple instructions when it comes to recycling. This past weekend I went to dump my recycling in one of the bins around town, only to find that someone before me had dropped off theirs in plastic bags (not allowed), as well as a bunch of Styrofoam (also not allowed). Now I understand that you mean well… at least you didn’t dump it in the woods, but did you know that they don’t sort through those bins to remove the garbage and separate the recyclables? Recycle bins are also not overflow garbage bins for when your garbage bin is full. The last time I checked, if any non-allowable items are discovered in the bin, that whole load is considered tainted, and is diverted to the garbage dump. You’ve wasted the recycling efforts of all those other people that recycled by the rules. All you had to do was read the friggin’ sign.
When I saw the garbage in the bin, I took my recycling and put it in a different bin to make sure it didn’t get wasted.
And as for people that just dump their garbage in the woods because they’re too cheap to dispose of it properly, I have a few words for you, all of them are NSFW. I live near a forest, and many times on my walks in the woods with my wife we will encounter a fresh pile of someone’s trash. I will inspect the trash to see if I can find something identifying with people’s names on it, and inform the Conservation Officers, who then contact those people to come and clean up their mess or face a large fine. Yes, if you dump garbage in the woods, I will tattle on you. Don’t be such a cheapskate. It costs something like $15 for a truck load of garbage, and you get four free dumps at the Landfill by showing them your water bill, so there’s no excuse. Even for items like tires or metal that they charge you extra for, there are places in town that will take them for free (some tire shops and metal recyclers).
It doesn’t take much effort to be environmentally responsible, so please try your best.
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