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Honored Contributor
Posts: 20,019
Registered: ‎08-08-2010

@faeriemoon wrote:

I can't understand how anyone can not recycle, or have no interest in recycling.

 

Smiley


Well, since there are so many holier than thou attitudes popping up about this, let me give some reasons why.

 

Not convenient. We live in an area that has no curbside recycling. It has to be loaded up and taken to the containers they place around the county. Luckily, we have one just a few miles from us, but for many it can be a lot of miles, and poverty is very high in our area. A number of people don't have reliable transportation to get things to a center. When they do get a ride to a store or a medical appointment, they don't hit the person up to haul their trash. 

 

Age/disability. Again, if you live somewhere where there is no curbside pickup, and getting around, especially in the ice and snow is difficult for you, then having to unload your own things and sort them into the big bins in icy parking lots can be just another invitation to getting hurt. If you rely on public transportation or someone else for transportation, you aren't going to have a way to haul things to a center.

 

Lifestyle. In the country, there are many people who don't buy a lot of the things that come packaged for recycling. They grow and raise a lot of their own food. A lot of their paper type trash is burned, when they have brush etc. to burn. I know, the ozone, global warming, blah blah blah, but there are still places where a lot of people burn.

 

And as far as I can see, the only reason to recycle is to prevent the landfills from filling up with things that never go away. And that is a great reason, but the point being that all the energy spent in the recycling process really needs to be considered. All the hauling, sorting, reprocessing,etc. uses energy, and has it's own environmental and financial impacts, that may or may not outweigh the benefits.

 

And for the record, we are heavy recycle folks. My husband and son do it as a side business, in addition to our household stuff. I just think people who get all uppity about 'how could people not', need to remember that not everyone has the same availability of services, access, or ability as others.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,702
Registered: ‎08-22-2013

My husband and I recycle just about everything that can be recycled. In the past we have composted vegetable scraps, but the past few years we have had a problem with the bears getting into it and making a big mess so we stopped. We even have a composting toilet in our basement and one outside in our barn.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,344
Registered: ‎05-01-2010

A big thank you @Mominohio. I thought everyone knew all the reasons for not recycling, but I guess they don't. Not everyone has all these services available to them. 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,839
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Yes its the law here. We have curbside pickup. However for appliances and electronics we have to take those to a recycle center. We also have to take paint/paint cans to dispose of properly.

 

I might add recycling also takes energy to do. SO we try to cut needing to recycle. One example is; We do not buy single water bottles, We buy jugs of water and use travel mugs to take water on the go.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make~ The Beatles
Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,073
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

We recycle so much that our curbside bin can't hold it all.  We use 4 large plastic storage bins bought from a discount store and take them to a local recycling drop off center when they get full. 

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,070
Registered: ‎09-23-2010

Not everyone has curbside service we don't. We haul our own to the dump.

I have a neighbor that picks cans off the highway to sell so I save cans for her. We have a burn barrel for paper and food boxes,cardboard boxes go the dump.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,938
Registered: ‎12-29-2010

@Sooner wrote:

I'm thinking some some recycling should be done on some attitudes around here.  Good grief!  Pretty mean spirited comments for those who don't do just as you do aren't there?  Really  Is there a reason to go there?  


ITA

"friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel"
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,419
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I want to LOL. I really do not understand why people do not recycle. It saves our planet, and tax $.  I live in a community with an HOA. We do not have curb side pickup for trash. We have to take it to a recycle center onsite.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,814
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: DO YOU RECYCLE ?

[ Edited ]

I appreciate all the different viewpoints and experiences that have been shared.  It has opened my eyes.  As I mentioned earlier we have curbside pickup and I didn’t realize how lucky we are.  Plus we can throw everything into one container and not have to sort it.  The most I have to do is wash anything with food inside.

  

I just took a bunch of stuff out to our recycling trash container.  I keep two containers in the house and empty them into the recycling container about every other day.  I looked to see what we had accumulated in two days – newspapers, catalogs, magazines, junk mail (with names removed), vitamin bottles, Kleenex box, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, plastic sleeves from the newspapers, various plastic containers from blueberries and nuts. It adds up fast.  

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,986
Registered: ‎10-04-2015

@Noel7 wrote:

@Blahblahvampemer

 

Your community might want to start with banning plastic bags from stores and take-out places.  Those bags are killing our wildlife.

 

I have chosen NOT to post pictures available online of those bags hurting our sea creatures, but here is just one of the many photos of so many, many plastic bags which have ended up in our ocean.

 


 

 

For anyone that says they don't recycle ( for whatever reason).

I say start with something ! If you do use plastic grocery bags,

why not save them. Most grocery stores have recycling bins for

these plastic bags at the entrance of their store. It wouldn't take

much effort to bring them back the next time you go shopping.

Just asking everyone to try and do your part , big or small. Woman Happy

 

Thank you to all the people that do recycle.

 Smile, your efforts are very much appreciated Heart

 

REDUSE, REUSE, RECYCLE