I’ve always been pretty comfortable with the idea of
recycling, at least intellectually. I’m just not so sure about the reality of
actually doing so yet. The thought of doing my part to help the environment
encouraged me, however, to give it a try. My major objection in the past had been
that you have to work at it most every day! And, I am by nature; a rather
lazy individual (read as typical male). That doesn’t mean that I can’t try! So, as the year 2012 swings on in, I’ve decided
to attack my waste from two distinct angles; stuff I will need to segregate for
recycling and also curtailing any non-recyclable junk I may not need anyway.
The segregation part of my plan seems pretty
straightforward. I broke my recyclables into four distinct categories; steel
cans, paper, aluminum cans and plastic (coded 1 & 2). These will go into
plastic bags that will be hauled on a periodic basis to the receptacles located
behind the Municpal Building
of Forsyth, Mo. (A
recent communiqué from one of the city officials I asked indicated that they
accept paper, cardboard, plastic and maybe aluminum cans). When I made an
exploratory trip to the site, I found a sign on one of the dumpsters that reads
as follows:
[There were three dumpsters that looked as though they were meant for recyclables although I'm not sure. This will be addressed in a future blog.]
Well, that simplifies things somewhat, and that will take a
huge bite out of the amount of waste I throw away. (I’ve been composting my
leftover vegetable scraps for years already, so that’s not a problem)! That
leaves me with some ‘miscellaneous waste’ such as Styrofoam and the like. This
is where I plan to implement the other half of my recycling effort to help
reduce these items as much as possible. From now on, when I go to the store, I
plan to look closely at each item I purchase with an eye to what it will take
to get rid of once the contents are consumed. Chief among the so-called problem
items would be; glass
containers, anything that contains non-recyclable plastic and items like
chicken bones that cannot be composted. (I’m hoping to locate ‘public dumpsters’
somewhere in the area that these can be placed in). Also, burning is an option,
but it’s an option I would not be happy exercising.
While I'm at it, here’s a few things I’d like to see happen in Missouri in regards to
recycling;
1) Create
a state-funded initiative oversight panel with the goal of creating a uniform
policy for the collection and management of all items the state regards as
recyclable.
2) Have
counties work closely with existing waste collection services to include
separate residential collection bins for those who want to participate.
3) Offer
courses at the schools to help teach kids the value of recycling and what their
role will be in the future when we all have to recycle.
4) Explore
ways in which recycling can be conducted state wide and in such a way that it
is sustainable for the state to do so.
Remember, there will come a time (soon I think), whereby
communities like Forsyth will have to address the issue of what they are going
to do about waste. We can all sit around with our heads in the sand until that
time or we can proactively begin the process of making our world a better,
cleaner and more efficient one to be passed onto the next generation.
