If you’re going to the market to buy some juice
You’ve got to bring your own bags and you learn to reduce your waste
And if your brother or your sister’s got some cool clothes
You could try them on before you buy some more of those
Reuse, we’ve got to learn to reuse
And if the first two R’s don’t work out
And if you’ve got to make some trash
Don’t throw it out
Recycle, we’ve got to learn to recycle
[3 R’s by Jack Johnson, Curious George soundtrack]
There’s a fine line between hoarding and recycling, and I’m relieved to report that we ended up on the recycling side after finally making a trip to one of Lincoln’s many recycling bin locations. We’ve recycled pop cans for a long time, but that’s only because our neighbor faithfully collects and returns them for cash. In vain I believed I need a beautiful recycling system, one that fit in with my kitchen decor (LOL). Finally Jeremy pushed us to recycle and off we went, with Jeremy often rescuing items I had thoughtlessly tossed in the trash.
By the time we had created Mount Trash (in the pic above), I was amazed by how much of our trash we could recycle. Newspapers, cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, even plastic pill bottles, milk cartons, mixed paper, so on and so forth. We still need to purchase more black bins from Target, but now we’re well on our way in this little venture of the 3 R’s.
**Note to parents: The Jack Johnson Curious George album quoted above is fantastic listening for entire families. It’s the only CD checked out from the library that I really wished I owned. And soon, thanks to Amazon.com, I will own it. : )
8 Comments
charity Mar 24, 2008 11:07 AM
I have to say that one thing I’m happy for my tax dollars to go towards is the free recycling pick up every Friday morning. Except for paper and that pesky corrugated cardboard, there’s no need to sort. The blue bins the city provide work just great!
christina hoyt Mar 24, 2008 9:12 PM
oh my goodness, after seeing this photo I feel normal now! Our recycling system crossed the reycling line last week and now is officially “hoarding”–i think I might take charity’s advice and get a pick up service. :)
Adam Mar 25, 2008 10:48 AM
Listen, it’s not hoarding til you have floor to ceiling storage racks of disposables.
But if you catalog it… (cackles) …then it’s an ARCHIVE! WOO HOO!
They’re mine, all mine! (clutching an armful of old papers begins running from men in white suits)
Brook Mar 25, 2008 11:45 AM
I have to say that I am thrilled to be spending $9/month for recycling pick-up. It’s not out of laziness either. I don’t have to separate my plastics, tin, glass, etc., and they take every number of plastic I can come up with. So, plastic #7 can be recycled and not have to end up in the trash. I feel like hugging a tree right now.
Kerri Mar 25, 2008 1:34 PM
Those of you on the south side of town–Super Saver at 27th and Pine Lake now has a recycling center on the south side of the building. The containers for glass and plastic are better designed for dumping my recyclables than the site near Time Warner. And it’s closer to our house (and somewhere that I travel to at least once a week anyway!
Most recent zealous recycling moment lately: after the 8th grade basketball potluck, I “dumpster dove” through the trash bags to get the aluminum cans that had been tossed away, and hauled them home. Ironically, I will be hauling them back to school on “Aluminum Can Pickup Day”.
Wish I would have thought to put out a box or something ahead of time for people to toss their cans into….
Rebecca Mar 25, 2008 1:43 PM
FYI for locals… The Journal Star is currently offering two deals on their recycling program. 1) One month free, or 2) Three months at half price. Full price is $10 per month for subscribers. For that price you get 1 or 2 bins and pickup once a week.
I just signed up for 3 months and will report back about the service.
Sarah M Mar 25, 2008 6:13 PM
We have an awesome system (started when first married 3 years ago and have honed it down): one box in the hallway off the kitchen…when the box is full, we take it downstairs to our 5 bins that are lined against the wall (ours is unfinished…I wouldn’t do this on carpet!:)…then once every 2 months we drive to our local recycling center and dump it all (we also have a huge truck, so this is easy for us)…seriously…one time we had over 4 MONTHS of stuff waiting to be dropped off, our basement was so clean after that! but once you get bins it’s all downhill! I can’t imagine paying for it when we can do it so easily.
Jamie Mar 26, 2008 1:15 AM
i LOVE that CD! “gotta reduce, reuse, recycle..” we often put it on in the car..
have suggestions for other parent-friendly kid CDs??