Recycling

This month’s Eco Tip, on page 11, triggered my thoughts about recycling. In the past, I’ve always lived in places where recycling was a given, and you paid for a combined garbage/recycling program.

My last residence was in a town with an incredible weekly recycling program. There was a container or bag for almost everything, including compost made up of both vegetable matter and meats. On the other hand, you got one little garbage can that they picked up every two weeks. It sure didn’t allow for much garbage, and it was a major incentive to recycle everything possible.

In complete contrast, when we moved to our most recent home, I discovered that we had a huge garbage container but nothing for recycling. I called our local waste management service, and they informed me that I could participate in the optional recycling program for $15 per month. I thought that was a great deal, so I jumped on board, and they promptly delivered a huge, blue-lidded recycling container.

Every week when I look down the streets in my neighborhood, I see only a few other recycling containers. The garbage cans, on the other hand, are often so full that the lids won’t close. Some of that—or maybe most—is recyclable. I know this because I can see boxes peeking out and also because of my past experience with recycling.

I’ve been told by random people that the waste management companies sort the garbage and remove the recycling—really? Perhaps they remove items like boxes, but a lot of recycling ends up in garbage bags, and I just can’t imagine them opening bags and separating garbage from recycling.

I’m a little stumped as to why recycling would ever be an “option” in this day and age. It’s apparent—and a little disheartening—that the majority of people don’t choose to recycle, especially if there’s a cost involved. The only solution is to have a waste management program where the cost includes both garbage and recycling. This wouldn’t necessarily mean that people would recycle, but there might be more incentive to do so.