As my daughter and I began to consider purchasing a house, naturally there was a lot of discussion about what we would be leaving behind moving out of our old apartment. A myriad of pros and cons were speculated on, lots of talk about establishing something that is ours, that we can take pride in, that we can mold to our own tastes and preferences. In one of these discussions, my daughter firmly stated that, for her, maybe the biggest reason to move is that we can start recycling again. Yes, you read that correctly. When we lived in Ohio, we were very careful to recycle all that we could. We separated paper, plastic, cardboard, metal, and glass. We carefully placed all of these items in the county-supplied recycle bin and placed it out at the curb every week. We developed a mind-set of not throwing recyclables in the trash because we were too lazy or it was a pain to prepare the items for pickup. Living in an apartment complex, there was no recycling possible. The nearest recycling center was more than 10 miles away, and we did not have the room to keep the recyclables in our space. This drove the two of us nuts. We would throw out bottles or cans and feel so, so irresponsible, like we were wasting the planet's resources, like we were doing something wrong. I wished more people took recycling seriously. At my place of work, we typically have recycling bins placed right next to all of our garbage cans. They are well marked, convenient, and cannot be missed. However, on a daily basis I see the garbage cans overflowing with paper or cans or bottle and non-recyclable trash thrown into the recycling containers. How can people be so selfish and so clueless? Great, now I am ranting. Let me get control of this blog before it gets out of hand. Let me get back to my main points. 1). My daughter makes me smile with her thoughts. 2). My daughter is officially a member of the green party. 3). We are pleased at the thought of putting our recyclables out on the curb each week.Part 6 of a moving 6 part series.
