Thursday, January 23, 2025

doing the write thing; attitude adjustment in slow progress for (me!) sandra, topps, writeousmom


 i am not a fan of recycling.  i am not enthusiastic about it..   i am currently full of resentment..  full of confusion..   even when i wanted to do the write thing

i was told i was doing it wrong

when i thought i corrected my errors

wrong still, it turns out.

****

my final wave of the white flag     -and i mean, not of surrender, but of no longer give a SH*%

happened AFTER (and during) an HOUR CLASS on the importance of recycling, how the lid of this goes there, but the bottom half here

if food touches this; it goes there

but, if you clean this first (and how much WATER to do this....);

you can put it here..    i could feel my own eyes glaze over... 

and they placed a large poster with pictures for what goes where..

and they shared a numeric formula of branding on products to supposedly help us..

the short of the long of it is this:

I STOPPED CARING.   it gave birth to such a deep indifference... apathy.

like, i am not going to spend several minutes standing in front of garbage cans trying to figure this out..

to the garbage it goes.

anyway, 

for the past many several years, i, and actually, we, my husband and i, we have exercised a rather loose carefree policy when it comes to recycling, we do have two trash cans, 1 for garbage, the landfill, 

where people are made to feel, that

    despite drug dealers, meth addicts, murderers, launderers, thieves, bullies, gangs, vandals and degenerates of a wide variety

despite all that, 

people who place anything in the garbage destine for the landfill, are made to feel responsible for the destruction of the world      -not world wars, nuclear bombs, genocides..

the real criminals use the wrong bin to throw trash away.

    -and i briefly remember here, 'earth day' when my children were in elementary school..

and i so specifically remember thinking..    these children are still learning how to be responsible for keeping their rooms clean..    now they are responsible for the world?

anyway..

where was i?   yes..  we've had a rather loose, care-free, 2 can choices program in our home

garbage.  recycle.    pick one or the other.

i've noticed at public venues.. they sometimes have 3 or even 4 choices..

and i have NEVER placed my trash in any of the cans with confidence.   it literally always feels a bit like a best guess..

and i hope no one is watching.

and i was happy with our loose carefree 2 cans life; we both were..

we were doing something..     making an effort, allbeit, a non aggressive one, to save our planet from destruction for posterity

not sure we'd get a 100% or A+'s, but..   we did use both cans.

and then..

and then  -the garbage police came by!

we just happen to be glancing out our window to adore the cute variety of birds at our feeder and what!?!

who is that?!?   -what the heck...

some guy in one of those arent you so official neon yellow vests..   he lifted the lids on both our cans..

took a brief a look and..

did we just get a ticket?  

and we looked back and forth at each other...   you've gotta be sh&*(ting me, my husband said..

"go ask him what he just did!!...."  i said in a panic..

and my husband looked at me, like I should...

and i looked at him, glanced at my current inappropriate in public pajama outfit, and was then without need to repeat, 

and, so he went ahead and braved the question directly to the neon yellow vested garbage police man

while i listened through a crack in the door.

    -couldnt ask for a more polite, respectful garbage police officer.

not a ticket or a fine, he assured us, just a courtesy note..

and he went on to focus on the positive..   thank you, because, you got it correct, shredded paper can go in a bag, but the rest of your recycling needs to remain loose, don't bag it up..   that's all.  just informing..   not fining..

we were so grateful not to get a fine or get hand-cuffed..

and we looked curiously at the pamphlet left behind..

i would show you a picture here of it, but i was pretty upset when i saw a frown face on it..

and so i shredded that thing immediately   -knowing the shredded paper can remain in a larger bag.

   -knowing; not guessing..

both my husband and i, we are good people.  God-fearing, God-loving, on the narrow path type people..

so, there isnt anything we are going to consciously do that is illegal, immoral, or just plain wrong..

but that doesnt mean we have to be bullied or threatened into recycling properly

when the rules keep changing

"i have no respect for this stupid system!"  i said a few times..

but guess what...

ever since that garbage police man came by, and gave us a 'warning'

we have literally checked everything; every. single. thing. we are about to throw away..

we check it first for any potential instructions..

any clue, anywhere on the packaging or container, that might allow us to 

know; not guess..

which of now THREE! containers we are supposed to place our trash in

     1.  does it go in the regular garbage..  ?  therefore leading to the utter destruction of our earth so that there is no posterity to inherit anything

     2.  does it go in the recycle bin?   and literally shape-shift into materials used to make new containers, clothes, furniture, packaging that we re-struggle to figure out where it goes next?   

               -are we to rinse it clean?  how clean?   -using a vital, limited resource, water...

     3. or, does it now go in the "STORE DROP OFF" container, where..

                    -of our own free-will, with zero incentive save altruistic values, we use our own transportation, time, energy, etc. to physically deliver STORE DROP OFF stuff to a store-you-can-drop-stuff-off-at

not mentioning here, what WE PAY for garbage service..   how they include that fee, which has only increased, in property taxes

and wont mention either, how, even the recycling we do with cans, bottles, that supposedly has 

WAIT

we have THREE in-door choices:  GARBAGE; RECYCLE; STORE DROP OFF

but we have SEVERAL MORE! outdoor recycling cans and we have been, and will continue to organize and bring in for recycle:

      ALUMININUM cans, 

     GLASS by color, clear glass, brown glass, green glass,    /and then the rules change, and then they change back..  by color, not by color..    IRRITATING!!

     AND PLASTIC bottles..

we do a fair amount of hosting through-out the year, so it does accumulate..

anyway..

the incentive was initially two-fold  -first and foremost, you organize and recycle using your own transportation, time and energy to bring it to the recycling place, even though you PAY FOR garbage pick-up, this is separate, and you do it because 

1) you do not want to contribute to the destruction of the world

2) you will receive back any CRV, you INITIALLY PAID when you PURCHASED;

         CRV by the way has only increased also..   .2 cents, .5 cents, .10cents..

but not just increased in price; it increases in scope:  just aluminum cans, sodas, beer, to now, any beverage, adding on more recently, alcohol and wine...

and you PAY per item; but when you return for recycling..  you are compensated by weight.   /guess which way the scales lean... 

   -Californians are experiencing a growing taxation without representation problem.. 

and i need to interrupt here, with when i nearly lost my mind..

here we are, doing the write thing..

separating and organizing our aluminum, glass, even by color, and plastic bottles..

doing our part by driving them to a recycling place..

and then having a portion of the plastic bottles we took the time and energy and effort to drive to the recycling place, 

having some of our pre-squished, hand-compacted plastic bottles DENIED

    -apparently if the plastic bottle does not have the paper wrap label in-full-tact..

unacceptable.   [tame tongue...   help...]    -arent we supposed to be separating paper & plastic..

****

i can't even write anymore on the topic, it is so blatantly....

 but guess what, 

****

even as i have these resentful, irritated, rebellious, no-respect thoughts

we still continue to read the labels on any and every single thing we are about to throw away..

****

what i said to my husband,   -is at least, its true, 80% of what we buy and use is repeat stuff..

mouth wash  /which i need write now for more than one reason..

groceries.. many repeats..

   and look, these granola bar wrappers..  i never even paid attention before

i always put them in the recycle bin, not the garbage..

turns out once again i was 

WRONG!

      frown face.

those go in BRING IT YOURSELF TO A STORE DROP OFF LOCATION with zero compensation or incentive and even though you PAY FOR GARBAGE PICK UP

and do that, FOR FREE..  because it is the write thing to do.

****

i was just about to close with a brief note, a love letter, if you will, to future generations..

to posterity; to seek their understanding and forgiveness

but, 

if the recycling program continues on the path its currently on...   no one is going to give a SH*&% anymore anyway

****

hallelujah, selah & amen!

***

you know how i never like to highlight a problem without offering a genius solution,  -write.

COLOR-CODING

write now i have to go get my readers on to even read and make-out what the recycle criteria is on any given package..

landfill = brown dot

recycle = blue dot

store drop off = green dot

with matching color-coded containers.

less guessing.

widely recyclable?   -IN WHAT BIN? ..     check locally?   honest to God..

WHAT BIN?  JUST TELL US WHAT BIN!

 -garbage.



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