Recycling
I'm a recycler.
In high school, I had a "Love Your Mother" bumper sticker stuck to my planner. I liked Birkenstocks, corn rows, andd activism. (Not that I've ever owned Birks or had corn rows, but if I visited Jamaica I might. And I've never marched or demonstrated, but I think the fact that we can--and that some are passionate enough to do so--is great.) But I digress.
In NY we had to recycle. We lived in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. When I was young I went with my dad to the landfill, where we tossed lots of trash, as did others. Fridges, couches, paper--it all went to the same spot. We also had a burn barrell, as did most people in the country. When I got older, laws were changed. Recycling trailers were placed in landfills. Burning trash was outlawed, and we paid a fee to throw away non-recyclable trash. I didn't mind; I liked recycling--and my parents footed the trash bill.
When we moved to Haxtun (to the country) I was sad to see pits in the middle of fields where refrigerators, stoves, paint cans, and other junk was tossed. It looked terrible. I felt like Heavenly Father probably wanted us to try to take care of what He's given us. Plus, if we use our resources well, the earth can sustain its population, thus providing bodies for the Spirits that need to be here.
Anyway. I didn't recyle when my kids were little; there weren't any facilities closeby, and we just didn't have the volume of trash we have now. When I began recycling a few years ago I took my stuff to Holyoke, which was a pain in the rear end. I just couldn't get there enough. So I didn't recycle everything, though I wanted to.
About a year ago Haxtun got its own recycling trailer. yay! Every week I take an oversized kitchen trash can FULL of plastics and paper. I also recyle cardboard. I've learned how much our eating habits have changed by watching the trash: very few cans, but lots of veggie and fruit containers. And at the end of the year, when I've kept 52-plus trashcans out of the landfill, I feel pretty good. Plus, my kids get to help. Recycling: it's a beautiful thing.
In high school, I had a "Love Your Mother" bumper sticker stuck to my planner. I liked Birkenstocks, corn rows, andd activism. (Not that I've ever owned Birks or had corn rows, but if I visited Jamaica I might. And I've never marched or demonstrated, but I think the fact that we can--and that some are passionate enough to do so--is great.) But I digress.
In NY we had to recycle. We lived in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. When I was young I went with my dad to the landfill, where we tossed lots of trash, as did others. Fridges, couches, paper--it all went to the same spot. We also had a burn barrell, as did most people in the country. When I got older, laws were changed. Recycling trailers were placed in landfills. Burning trash was outlawed, and we paid a fee to throw away non-recyclable trash. I didn't mind; I liked recycling--and my parents footed the trash bill.
When we moved to Haxtun (to the country) I was sad to see pits in the middle of fields where refrigerators, stoves, paint cans, and other junk was tossed. It looked terrible. I felt like Heavenly Father probably wanted us to try to take care of what He's given us. Plus, if we use our resources well, the earth can sustain its population, thus providing bodies for the Spirits that need to be here.
Anyway. I didn't recyle when my kids were little; there weren't any facilities closeby, and we just didn't have the volume of trash we have now. When I began recycling a few years ago I took my stuff to Holyoke, which was a pain in the rear end. I just couldn't get there enough. So I didn't recycle everything, though I wanted to.
About a year ago Haxtun got its own recycling trailer. yay! Every week I take an oversized kitchen trash can FULL of plastics and paper. I also recyle cardboard. I've learned how much our eating habits have changed by watching the trash: very few cans, but lots of veggie and fruit containers. And at the end of the year, when I've kept 52-plus trashcans out of the landfill, I feel pretty good. Plus, my kids get to help. Recycling: it's a beautiful thing.
Comments
Post a Comment