I started recycling glass bottles and aluminum cans over 30 years ago. They would pile up at my house, sometimes sorted into the three categories of brown/green glass, clear glass and cans. When I couldn’t stand it anymore, or when they threatened to spill out from the area where I kept them and block my front door, I’d load them all into my car and drive them across town to where the tall, ugly dumpsters were. There was something cathartic about slinging them high enough into the air to clear the edge of the big bins, and then hearing the smashing glass when they dropped on the other side. Sometimes in summer I’d have to run from the bees that rose up, disturbed by the intrusion.Things have changed over the years, and now all I have to do is drag my yellow tub out to the curb each week. The great thing is that recycling is a part of my neighbors’ lives, too. It’s something we all take for granted, and when in one of the few parts of the country where I can’t recycle, it seems strange to throw a can or glass bottle into the trash.
I wonder how many cubic yards of glass and cans I’ve saved from the landfills in over 30 years? We can all make a difference!
