I'm going to get back on my soap box here. This past weekend, Sarah and I participated in the American Heart Associations Heart Walk. We took a nice 5 mile walk around Lancaster city with Grandma, Grampy, and Auntie Jen. Everything was well organized, and I even got a few ideas to take with me to the 2006 Relay for Life committee. I do have two gripes with the event though. First of all, there were two "rest" stops set up at the two local hospitals in the city where they were handing out water bottles and fruit bars. I thought this was great. I asked a volunteer at the second station if they were going to recycle all of the water bottles that they had accumulated in their trash can, and she had the nerve to laugh at me! I very politely took my bottle back and carried it for the rest of the walk until I could find a place to recycle it.
We got back to F&M, where the walk started and stopped, and were fed a free lunch provided by Subway. As I was expecting, they had trash cans and separate recycling cans set up throughout the gymnasium where the food was served. My gripe with this is that I watched the janitorial staff of F&M empty the recycling bins into the trash cans, and then empty the trash cans, in effect, throwing the recyclables away with the rest of the trash. I have a big enough problem with plastic bottles and other such items being thrown away, but to have out recycling containers, labeled as such, and then not recycle them is absurd! Most people, I'm sure, put their bottles in the bins, thinking that they would be recycled, not that they would be discarded only to occupy space in a land fill for the next 1 billion + years.
I will definitely be writing a letter to F&M and the American Heart Association, and I'm debating whether or not to send a copy to the editor of the local paper. Rest assured, I will no longer rely on these public recycling bins. I'd rather carry my empty for a bit and be inconvenienced, than risk it being thrown away.
Posted by doug at September 26, 2005 03:18 PMIt's a conspiracy, Doug. You've noticed this at work as wel. Have you watched your trash people come and collect your recycling. Do they keep it separated? My trash company comes around in separate trucks, but really, what happens after that? Is that all just an act as well?
Years ago, I had always heard that this stuff just gets stock-piled anyway, and not reused anywhere near the rate we accumulate it. Is that still true?
Do you have any resources to help identify companies who actually reuse?
Posted by: john at September 27, 2005 07:47 AMThere are a number of companies that claim that their packaging is made from "post-consumer" product, but I don't know that there is any government regulations for this. Earth911.org is a good resource for recycling programs through North America, and there are a few online retailers that I would trust to buy recycled from, but you bring up an interesting point. I'm sure there has been investigations into what actually happens at the collection facilities to the recyclable goods that are collected, but I am not specifically aware of any such research. If anyone knows of this, let me know.
Posted by: doug at September 27, 2005 08:08 AM