On a related note....recycling, etc

After reading Morgan's most recent blog, I got to thinking more about
recycling. I happen to live in a suburb that makes it EXTREMELY easy
for us to recycle. I.E. we were given a huge bin, just as big as our
garbage bin, to put all of our recyclables in. Our city is very
generous and forward thinking about what can be recycled, and I often
wonder why other cities/suburbs aren't the same. We can recycle
pretty much anything but Styrofoam (why oh why do restaurants still
use these for take out? Perhaps I should start bringing my own
containers for left overs. Now THAT's an interesting idea!) Even as
easy as my suburb makes it to recycle, would you believe there are
people who still do not participate? Case in point, my neighbors
never recycle and their garbage can is over-flowing each week with
things that are clearly recyclable materials. I cringe just about
every week that I see this. So I asked them not long ago what the
deal was. Their response "Oh, our recycle bin is being used to store
boxes in our garage, we wouldn't make a difference anyhow" How sad is
that, in the times in which we live, and all of the awareness about
recycling, etc? One person CAN make a difference.

On the same note, my kids go to a charter school that is very
environmentally focused. My son has been there for 6 years now, my
daughter 1, and when we pack lunches they must be "trash free"
Meaning, no throw away, convenient food packages, cloth napkin,
reusable utensils, etc. When people hear where they go to school the
first thing they asks is "ohhh isn't that the school where they can't
have trashy lunches? That must be so hard for you" To which I
respond in amazement "no, it isn't hard at all. It's called
Tupperware containers, etc" I'm amazed at how many people out there
still are just so into the convenience factor instead of just taking a
few more minutes to actually take foods and put them into reusable
containers. It just seems like common sense to me and I hope this way
of thinking continues to spread. At least we know our 2 kids will
have grown up with this way of thinking, as well as all the kids they
attend school with. We need more kids to grow up this way as they
truly are the hope of the future of Mother Earth!

Recycle, Reuse, Recover, Reduce. Words to live by!

~Kari