JUNE 4th, 2008

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Recover

I feel a strong need to talk about ONE of the 4 R's today.

RECYCLING

Here at home in our part of Ontario Canada, our recycling program is going gangbusters as far as I am concerned. I recycle just about everything that comes through our door and when garbage day comes, there are times I don't have anything at all to put out at the curb. When I do, it is a very small bag. I am pleased to say.

I love my planet and though I don't understand all that is needed to keep it green and healthy, I am learning, and I do try, with a concentious effort to do my part to help.

WHILE ON VACATION
I noticed with great distress that our first lengthy stop in Tampa Florida showed me a side of our world I didn't realize existed. A thriving metropolis with a thriving consumer population and basically NO RECYCLING program in place whatsoever! It appalled me to realize this. How behind the times globally can this one state in the U.S.A. be???

NO BOTTLE RETURN PROGRAM
Not even bottle returns at their beer stores, as we have in Canada. So all the beer bottles and liquor bottles are going straight to the landfill sites. Not to mention the pop bottles, and pop cans, and every other comodity bought in glass, and plastic bottles. It's just mind boggling to think of all the people in Florida state and how many non-recycled bottles are going into the landfill sites.

We are very lucky that in the program in our area, we can recycle just about 80% or more of what we purchase in containers. Glass, cans, boxboard, styrofoam, bags, cloth, and for what the truck doesn't pick up at the curb, the landfill sites have organized individual containers for wood, batteries, propane cyclinders, paints, aerosol cans, and several other designated sections to deal appropriately with our end waste.

FURTHER ALONG ON OUR TRAVELS
I did however begin to see recycling practices being implemented in a few of the states along the way as we travelled. Some even had roadside signs to let everyone know of the recycling practices.

We stopped at one rest stop and it was entirely set up with all it's recycling information in the form of a museum that we could walk through. I am almost certain I took pictures of the posters that were depicting the recycling that had been done that literally created the rest area features. I was so disheartened since Florida, that I didn't get as excited as I should have when I found out other states were at least trying to be environmentally focused.

If I have pictures of the rest area information it will be on my laptop that I used on the trip. I will see if I can access them over to display on my blog.

I am very happy to see that some states are taking steps in the right direction of environmental solutions.

Even in California, Arnie was saying that he realizes that CA is one of the worst contributors to the environmental pollution and that he is aware of it and he is working towards changing this situtation immediately. I saw him on t.v. while I was in California and I was quite impressed with his talk he gave about his environmental concerns.

This trip was a real eye-opener for me regarding this issue of recycling vrs tossing out as garbage.

I just felt I had to write about it at some point in my blog. It has been sitting uneasily with me since I learned of the situation starting in Florida way back in March of this year when I started my RV trip.

NOW ON A POSITIVE NOTE!

Visit http://www.etsy.com/ for many exciting handmade, home crafted, even RECYCLED, REUSED, and RECOVERED articles, that are much more impressive to purchase, than anything manufactured from any brick and mortar stores, by far!

Check it out!
~ Paula