Garbage In...Garbage Out...

We all need to do our part to clean up the world; not leave it to the next generation…and then the next…and so on.

RECYCLE…

There are many times I see pop bottles in ditches on country roads or even in country dumps. I am not saying it is just people who live in the country but it is easier for country folk sometimes to just throw them in the garbage then to take them to the nearest town that has a recycling center to recycle.

This is unacceptable when there are schools in their districts that could use these bottles year round; bag them and take them to your local school, that’s easy.

Another issue I have seen on country roads is beer bottles and cans.

Where they are located you know damn well that it is farmers or their hired help drinking while on the job or it could very well be riggers stopping for a quick one with a buddy on the side of the road. They toss the cans out the door/windows because they cannot be caught with the evidence in the heavy equipment/work truck by the authorities or by their boss. It can always be blamed on the guy driving by, right?

Old technology can be recycled now.

Many people do not know what it takes to make computers, televisions, radios and laptops that are tossed into the dumps and are leaking into the soil. They are not interested in informing themselves either. It is junk and it belongs in the junk pile.

REUSE…

One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

A problem that bothers me is that the local dump in my home town, in many home towns now, does not allow people to reuse anymore.

It has been a long time since my dad has been allowed to “shop” at his local dump. One of his regular things to do on his trip to the dumps after cleaning up the yard in the spring and fall. Finding things that were other peoples junk that he could personally make use of or fix and make a couple of bucks at a garage sale was something he was good at…and he did, not that mom enjoyed his “haul”.

I know several people who were/are able to do this, but alas the local government has put a kibosh on that endeavor.

We refuse to allow people to do this so our dumps are starting to grow even larger. Our dumps keep growing larger because people keep throwing things out that can still be used by someone. Instead of putting it in the garbage bin or on the back of a pickup truck to take to the dump, put it on the front lawn or the back lane with a “free” sign or call a local shelter/Salvation Army “like” store to see if they could take it off your hands…you were going to throw it away anyways allowing someone to take it off your hands isn't a bad thing. Let someone who needs it, REUSE.

Give it away!

RENEW…

Renewing things isn't for everyone.

Not everyone has the time or is not into rebuilding a cabinet to suit a room, so it goes back to recycle or reuse. Sell it in a garage sale; give it to someone who has said, “Oh, what I could do with that cupboard/dresser/pair of jeans.”

I have family that are right into turning old furniture into beautiful works of art that can be used in any room again or old jeans that can be turned into coats or purses. I love to crochet and cross stitch, but do not ask me to sew; you will have seams bunched and uneven. I like to paint but I get it EVERYWHERE.

We all have to do our part with keeping our world clean; we have done a shitty job of it so far and we cannot blame only the baby boomers. There are lots of people from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and so on that are just as guilty.

There will always be people guilty of this, it is just EASIER to throw things away and buy new than it is to reuse or recycle.

A flashlight that comes with a battery from a dollar store is cheaper to buy for a weekend camping trip then buying a new battery for an older flashlight, throwing the old flashlight with the dead battery out does not even cross most peoples’ minds as wrong.

History has shown us that if we don’t take care of our living space, disease happens.

It doesn't matter if it is rotting garbage or toxic dump, but when we have hundreds of thousands of people squished into one area and they produce garbage; we end up with mega tons of it and we end up with disease.

Again…

Mankind plunks itself down into one spot, lets itself grow until it explodes at its seam and then starts crying when smart people say…”this is what we need to do to survive…some will get sick, some will survive, some will die.”…

We do it to ourselves; whether we live in close quarters a major metropolitan or far a part on farms miles part down grid roads our trash will affect the ground, water and food we depend on.

We need to cherish it and preserve it.