Alright, I am going to do this post the best I can without sounding like I am on a soapbox! Recycling is something that I am very passionate about, just like
saving whales and conserving wildlife. It really all goes hand in hand! If you love the ocean, nature, animals, going to parks, the beach or any outdoor activities, then recycling may be something that you do already or maybe you should consider doing. By recycling it creates less waste and we can keep the planet cleaner and enjoy all those things I listed above, for years to come!
The main reason I am have decided to share this post with you is because I only started recycling last summer. I never cared about recycling or the planet. It wasn't something I ever even thought about. My mindset was like most peoples, "Trash goes in the trash can. Done." We all know that certain regions in our country are what I would call "more green" then others. It's not necessarily anyone's fault. Most people just don't THINK about it or may not have a recycling pick up service provided for them.
I grew up in Ohio. Being green or recycling is just not something that was very popular in the area where I was raised. It's sad really. If I would of know years ago how easy it is to recycle and the benefits, I would of started awhile back! The photo below is the
Rumpke landfill located near the area of Ohio that I grew up. I drove by this thing my entire life. I chose this picture because it was literally taken on highway 27. This is the view that I saw when I would go to work or shopping daily...
Image Source: Ohio Citizen
The sight of this large mound of trash wouldn't even effect me. It was just something I had grew up around. Seeing it now breaks my heart. It's actually called "Mt. Rumpke" by the locals. It's pretty much a landmark, as if it's a real mountain. Kinda gross when you think about, and it defiantly has a unique stench. When I was in high school one of my close friends joined the Air Force. Toward the end of his four year enlistment he ended up living in the state of Utah. He would come home to visit me in Ohio and I would beg him to move back. His reply always was, "There are no mountains here." I had not seen mountains or experienced the beautiful scenery the west has to offer, so I didn't really get it. I would joke and say, "Well Ohio has Mt. Rumpke!"
Last year when I moved to California things changed. The beauty of the change that happened to me, is that NO ONE changed me or forced me to change. It was all me and on my own. Things influenced me or I'd like to say "opened my eyes" to things I had never thought of before. First of all just driving across the country and seeing mountains and beautiful scenery opened my eyes. I felt so connected to mother nature and just saw what natural beauty our planet really has to offer us. It really made me want to do my part to help keep it that way!
My roommate that I rented a room from in California recycled. She had probably 6 different small trash cans lined up in her garage where you could place glass, plastic, newspaper, etc. into! It was easy. It would take months for it to really get full enough to have to empty. In the city of
Lompoc, CA there is a small recycling center where everyone would drive their recycling to. You did get paid for your recycling also. Since I was only there for a few months I don't know all the details of how the recycling works. I do know she took it all once and it was enough money for her to purchase tons of food. She used the money to purchase steaks and have a cookout for her friends. I guess if getting paid for your recycling helps motivate you, go for it! Whatever works. :) She did it though because she wanted to. The money was just a perk. Here are my main reasons for recycling...
1. I LOVE how good it makes me feel // Really it does. It sounds cheesy I know! I feel so happy when I put something in my recycling bin at home or drop recycling off!
2. It's good for our planet & future generations // If you have young family members, children, grand kids, etc... You should consider it for them. All of us have some outside activity that we enjoy. Like I said earlier it all goes hand in hand. Let's keep it clean for us and them to enjoy. :)
3. I want there to be a clean planet for my kids // The thought of my kids not being able to go see the Rocky Mountains or Yellowstone National Park breaks my heart. We all have to learn to take better care of our planet. I want my kids to be raised loving outdoor activities. Know what real mountains are like, not "Mt. Rumpke".
4. It's easy // It is. It took us months to fill up just one small tote of glass jars! If you get yourself some cheap plastic totes, bins or trash cans and get organized you would be amazed at how easy it is.
5. We only have 1 bag of trash a week // This amazes me. This just proves to myself that just about everything that you view as regular trash can be recycled. Before we recycled and we lived at our old apartment, I think we took a bag of trash out daily! Trash bags are expensive also, so it's saving us money!
We are lucky to have a large trash can provided for us for our recycling. They take plastics 1 - 2, cardboard (which is what most food boxes are made of!), junk mail, paper, tin and aluminum. There are many recyclables though that our trash pickup will not take: Glass, plastics 3 - 7 and plastic bags. Now that I pay attention to the amount of bags that stores give you, I use my own shopping bags when I grocery shop. What a great thing it is to not have to bring all those plastic grocery bags home!
Being on our
plant based diet we buy tons of produce. Which means lots of the clear produce bags. They are all recyclable so I make sure that I recycle them. We probably use 40 - 50 bags grocery shopping a month. That's just one person. Imagine how many we are all using together? So, it's a huge help to the planet to recycle them verses just throwing them in the regular trash can. Last weekend we drove all of our recycling that could not be recycled in the state of Wyoming down to Ft. Collins, Colorado....
Don't I look happy? I was. I was super excited to be able to leave all my plastic bags at the recycling center!
Cody says I am a nerd! Whatever, maybe I am. I don't care what people think.
I know what I am doing is a very good thing. :)
That huge Disney bag held so many bags. It took months to accumulate all those bags:
Produce, shopping bags, food packaging, baggies and anything that was plastic of any sort went in there!
The recycling area in Ft. Collins was very easy to find. It's basically just a big parking lot with huge dumpsters that are labeled to let you know what can and can not go in them. They make it very simple to just drive up and throw your stuff in. Cody threw our small tote worth of glass in there while I took his picture. LOL
It was a good day! Now our garage is empty and I am starting my recycling over.
I hope to come up with a cute decorative way to organize my recycling, I just haven't thought of anything yet.
IKEA has great recycling bins, so I might just buy some of those next time we go.
One thing that I have noticed lately is that when we eat at Subway their wrapping that goes around the sandwich, bags, drink cups and napkins are all recyclable. The packing even says "please recycle" on it. Yet there is no where in the restaurant to do that. I find that a bit ironic and upsetting. That's a lot of stuff that could be recycled everyday all over the country. It's so simple to just put a recycling trash can out. IKEA is great about having marked trash cans for regular trash and a recycling trash can side by side. During my last trip to the Denver IKEA, someone had thrown away their PLASTIC (cleary recyclable) cup in the regular trash can verses moving their arm over a 1/2 inch to the recycling / plastic can! It made me so angry and sad at the same time.
I recently read the quote, "Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
It touched my heart more then any quote ever has in my entire life.
That is me and where I am in my everyday life!
That is also why I decided to post this and share my feelings with you.
I'll leave it at that.....
Love,
Jessie
