Recycling?
What’s that got to do with “Choose Joyful Health” and “Five Star Eating”?
In my mind and heart, there is no separation between mind, body and spirit, and no separation between the health of Planet Earth and the health of all of her inhabitants. Taking care of our environment is part of doing what matters.
Today I’m inviting you to make a lighter, kinder footprint on the Earth, guided by guest blog writer and Five Star Eating graduate, my sister Kathleen DesMarteau.
During our recent “sister weekend,” I was really impressed with her commitment to making mindful, informed purchases in minimal packaging. I realized I’d been ignorant (on purpose) of the nuances of recycling, and that I could do better simply by paying attention.
Here’s Kathy’s post…
When my sister Joan asked me to write a blog post about recycling for Choose Joyful Health, I immediately thought of this scene from Airplane. For the uninitiated, Airplane is a very silly movie full of nonstop puns and slapstick humor. At one point, the jetliner’s captain (Peter Graves) and a passenger who happens to be a doctor (Leslie Nielsen) are discussing an impending crisis. Food poisoning from a batch of bad fish is spreading through the cabin.
Leslie Nielsen: “Captain, how soon can you land?”
Peter Graves: “I can’t tell.”
Leslie Nielsen: “You can tell me. I’m a doctor.”
In my family, I’m guilty of pulling things out of the trash and nagging my spouse and teenage children: “Hey! You can recycle this!” When they roll their eyes, I put on my best policewoman stance and remind them, “You really need to do this. It’s important. I know. I’m a professional.”
Well … I’m not exactly a professional. Not even close. But I am an official, regular, trained volunteer at my community recycling center. I’m passionate about it. I care a lot about the environment. I believe every little bit we can do to be greener as individuals makes a difference — and that it’s never too late to learn new good habits and practices. Of course, doing what’s right for Mother Nature is directly and indirectly tied to our own personal health in myriad ways. Cleaner planet = cleaner air and water = healthier ecosystem = healthier plants and animals = cleaner and healthier us!
Tips from a Johnny Come Lately
This post is not coming from the perspective of someone who has “walked the talk” her whole life. I was almost oblivious to environmental concerns for many years. Just distracted and busy with other things, I suppose. But long story short, I’m trying to do better now. I hope some of these tips and tidbits based on my discoveries in recent years might resonate with you. Maybe they will spark an idea for some new green thing you can do!
Tip #1: Catch the wave and let it carry you where it will. Once you get into recycling, it has a way of making you think about consumption in general. Recycling isn’t just about putting plastic bottles in your recycling bin, though that’s an awesome thing to do and a big part of it. It’s also about re-using and re-purposing, and it can apply to just about anything: rainwater, food containers, clothing, you name it.
Just this week, I caught my teenage daughter tossing out some jeans with a tear in the leg inseam (presumably an unacceptable tear, unlike those we pay American Eagle $100 to strategically place). I convinced her to cut off the legs so she’ll have a cute pair of Daisy Dukes for the summer (sustainability and modesty do not always go hand in hand; life is full of tradeoffs).
Pinterest dishes up tons of neat ideas for how to reuse all sorts of things. Being even a little serious about recycling is likely to help you be a little more conservative (as in, eco-conservative) about other things in life. For example, since I became more aware of recycling, I’ve also started paying more attention to my yard-care practices. I’m more willing to put in the effort to pull my weeds instead of zap them with Roundup. I’m cultivating some patience with the process. I’m strategizing and working methodically instead of stomping my foot and wanting to see immediate results. Isn’t that something that can help us in many aspects of life, from weight loss and fitness to relationships?
Tip #2: Try to be patient and do a little research. Remember the old “Stop-Drop-and-Roll” fire safety training from elementary school? Sometimes when I look back on my more Unaware Recycling Self, I want to tell her, “Stop-Think-Then Recycle!” In my first couple of years in my current town, I just threw all my plastics into my recycling bin for my trash service provider to haul away. Only after I started volunteering at my local recycling center did a fellow volunteer tell me that any plastic that wasn’t a bottle went into the landfill. “No way!” I thought. But I researched it, and she was right. Thankfully, our volunteer-run center takes other types of plastics, such as peanut butter containers, butter tubs, bags and wrappers. The tubs and containers must be types #1, 2, 4 or 5 (these numbers are usually imprinted in a little “recycling symbol” triangle on the bottom of a plastic container). As it turns out, types #3, 6, 7 and other sundry numbers aren’t widely accepted into commercial recycling streams. These “bad” plastics (bad for recyclability, that is) include Styrofoam. They are not recyclable in my small town. But they might be in some larger metropolitan areas. The good news is that you can usually find the answers pretty quickly online through local government websites or those of private trash collection services. There also are many good general-information recycling websites, like this one from the EPA. At the Sierra Club website, you can Ask Mr. Green your recycling questions.
Tip #3: Slow down just a bit and BYOB … or M … or C. By slowing down and taking a little time to plan ahead, you can cut down on your use of disposable products when you’re out and about. This may seem painfully obvious to people who’ve been mindful of sustainability for years, but I hate to admit, it just wasn’t large on my radar for the first several decades of my life.
So here’s my advice for relative newbies like me. Heading out for a while? BYOB (bring your own bottle) or BYOM (bring your own mug). Beware: Some fast-food restaurants have rules prohibiting their employees from filling your bottle or mug. But at many places, you can easily fill up without consuming any disposable cups. On road trips, I like to get fresh ice and water in my water bottle from convenience store soda fountains. If you buy something else (may I suggest some healthy nuts?), you can avoid the occasional dirty looks from a casher. Sometimes if I forget my M (mug), I ask the coffee barista to leave off the plastic lid. Then I just need to recycle the cardboard cup. If you are really committed and plan well, you can even BYOC (container) when you go out to eat. No Styrofoam container for your leftovers. Not today. No sirree! BYOB can also apply to Bags — for groceries or other odds and ends. If I forget my B (bag), I’m getting better at speaking up and saying “I don’t need a bag” if I can carry the stuff in my hands. And if the juggling act is a little uncomfortable, you’re more likely to remember your Bs next time! Then there are occasions like going out to eat. Often taking the slower path — such as sitting down and being served, at a restaurant that uses “real” plates and glasses or reusable plastic cups — is better in terms of generating less waste. This also gives you more time to make healthy dining choices, socialize over your meal if you’re with others (or daydream, people watch and/or catch up on your Facebook if you’re alone) and digest your food. There’s one restaurant I frequent weekly, and they use paper cups for iced tea and soft drinks and (gasp) #6 clear plastic cups for water. If I forget my B (bottle), I order hot tea — served in a ceramic cup and quite satisfying.
Tip #4: Set up shop anywhere. Take it on the road! I’m a big fan of these Flings pop-up recycling bins. I got a 10-pack from Amazon and have taken them to my kids’ sports events, easily hauled the recyclables home and reused them time and again. They also are completely recyclable in case they get too dirty to re-use. Another thing I like to do is take a bag and some garden gloves with me when I go for a walk. Then I have a way to pick up trash and recyclables along the road. Sometimes I just take a single plastic grocery bag (a good re-use for it, in my opinion). I almost always fill it up with a few bottles, beer cans and plastic wrappers. If a plastic bottle or bag is in a drainage ditch or near a stream (requiring a little extra effort to retrieve), I give myself brownie points for keeping potentially rogue phthalates from leeching into the ground and water. If you feel self-conscious as motorists pass by, just read the David Sedaris short story “Rubbish” and laugh out loud at yourself — and a world in which we feel we might be judged for having a personal roadside pickup pastime. (Sedaris even got a trash truck named for him!)
Tip #5: Seek and you shall find. If you’re consuming any kind of product on a regular basis, you may begin to wonder if it can be recycled and, if so, how and where? More good news: Even though at times it can seem that the world has gone horribly awry with commercial greed and that our American consumerism culture is out of control, a lot of businesses are trying to be greener. Big brands know it matters to a growing number of consumers, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies usually have some recycling/sustainability guidance regarding their products on their websites. I procrastinated for a long time on printer ink cartridges, stockpiling a gallon-sized Ziploc bag full, not knowing what to do with them. Then one rainy day, I took a few minutes to look on the Epson website, and voilà, an address for where to ship them. Turns out, Epson will even recycle your entire printer. Mine had died, so this was good to know, but my nearby Goodwill said they would take it and recycle its parts, so I went that direction. On another rainy day, I took the old cartridges, packed in a shoebox (more recycling points!), to the post office and mailed them off. For a while, I deconstructed and mailed off used K-cup coffee pods (now I use the plastic re-usable kind). Yes, there is a place that takes K-cup pods! Last tip: If you can stand having the stuff around for a while, hold onto broken TVs, printers, computers, mobile phones and appliances until you can find out if and when your community is having a collection day. I rolled into one of these events not so long ago and didn’t even have to get out of my car. I just popped my trunk, and a team of salvage specialists took my junk, ready to harvest reusable parts. Again, this stuff takes a tad of time and planning. But it’s worth it!
Here’s to your recycling journey and to a greener planet! You’ll feel great the more you get into it. It’s just what the doctor ordered! You can trust me. I’m a professional.
In addition to being one of Joan Craig’s sisters, Kathleen DesMarteau is a professional writer and volunteer community recycler based in Marietta, Ohio. She can be reached at KD@responsible-rw.com.