an Inconvenient truth

It pains me every time. I try my best, but sometimes there are just no convenient options. I end up succumbing to what goes against every fibre of my being. I am blogging about recycling.

In Tucson, probably Arizona, recycling is not a readily available lifestyle choice. People don't care to recycle plastic bottles and cans...the most visible of items to recycle, let's not even mention newspapers and the abundance of the other recyclable materials.

I'm not sure if there is any monetary motivation to recycle plastic, but the cashier charges me a deposit when I make a purchase.

In every garbage can, there is a gold mine of relatively easy money. Especially to all those hardened souls up in beloved Edmonton who scrounge around for this kind of gold in bitter cold and even forage in dumpsters for it.

I make the effort to bring in items to my work office because we do have a semblance of a recycling program. So i leave my cardboard garbage, etc. in my car and transport it to work just so i can still recycle what i can. But alas, what pains me even more than the lack of recycling bins and global thinking mindsets is my own slide down the slippery slope of apathy and convenience.

I no longer use my mug, cuz i find it gets dirty. So I use one brand new plastic or styrofoam cup everyday for my daily water consumption. I use plastic knives and forks when I bring my lunch to work rather than bringing my own metal ones. What's equally as troubling is that some people at my work use one brand new cup each time they fill water at the cooler. They throw away perfectly good paper. Their list of recycling travesties appall me.

I notice that the University of Arizona is beginning to encourage their students to recycle. And so maybe this is where this state's recycling revolution can begin. I am hedging my predictions though.

In the meantime, I will just drink one less can of soda when I can. :)

Grace to you, vien