Happy Earth Day

I have an Earth Day project to suggest.

I love recycling. It started as something that was offered free, curbside pickup next to the trash, in Wisconsin. Then, it was still curbside, but you had to pay a little for it, and they didn't take much, in Indiana. Now where we are, because we live outside of town, it's not even offered, so I have to pack it all up and take it to the recycling center. Which is all fine and good, because I believe in it. In fact, it has become so obsessive over the years, that it has actually become painful for me to throw something like a can in the trash. I will tote a pop can from a car trip two states over back home in order to throw it in my recycling bin instead of the trash, and I feel guilty throwing so much as a post-it note in the trash rather than walking it to the recycling bin. So, I suppose there is some healthy medium ground one can hope for.

My challenge is, for anyone out there who hasn't quite committed to regular recycling, to try it for a month or so. In doing so, I think you might be amazed at just how much you can accumulate in that amount of time, and by seeing it all sitting in bins, you realize just how much VOLUME you can recycle vs. throw into a landfill. And this is just you and your family. Imagine if your whole neighborhood took those bins that month to the recycling center instead of throwing it out. I consider our family pretty low consumption when it comes to packaged and processed foods, but yet, every three weeks or so when Luke and I pack up all of the bins to haul to the recycling center, I am amazed at how much has built up in that time.

So, maybe rig up something like this:

in a place that is close and convenient for you, with each bin labeled for easy dumping at the recycling center, and take a whirl.

You will feel like you are making a difference, and if you do have kids still at home, you can be a powerful model for them in the process.