Recycling

I have turned green. No, not green with envy (what do I have to be envious of when I live such a full life?). Yes to recycling! Living in Europe has made me a more wordly citizen with reason to believe that recycling is an important duty of every person in the world. Maybe the benefits of recycling aren't something I will directly see, but what about my children and grandchildren? In raising them, I want the best for them, and that includes recycling and teaching them the importance of it as well. Europe makes it easy to recycle. It is also required and you can get fined if you don't take part. I remember the first month we moved to Belgium and I went to the city hall to buy my garbage bags and recycling bags. I was astonished at the price we had to pay for one garbage bag (about $1.60)...recycling bags are much cheaper...incentive to recycle. They are also clear so that you can't "cheat". The first time I set out my recycling bag for collection, it was still there after they had collected with a giant RED sticker, stating that I had committed fraud by enclosing a non-recyclable object in the bag. It has been a learning process. However, a worthy one. Our garbage is collected twice in the month, as is our recycled goods (plastic, cans, foil, juice boxes, etc.). We also have a monthly glass and paper collection. In a two week period I usually have two bags of garbage...for a family of four. I am proud of that fact. Yet, I see many families with just one bag on the street. And our neighbor, a bachelor man, usually only collects one bag in the month (but he does have lots of glass with his alcohol bottles overflowing...hahahah)...amazing what you learn about people from their garbage!

In America, I did recycle. I recycled our cans and when I thought to, the paper. The rest I didn't know what to do with. I am happy to hear that more and more communities are implementing a recycling program. It is key in saving our world. What Is Recycling? Recycling is collecting, processing, and reusing materials that would otherwise be thrown away. We can make new recycled paper products from recycled paper instead of wood pulp; new aluminum cans from recycled aluminum cans; new glass bottles from recycled glass bottles; and new metal products like car parts from tin cans (taken fromhttp://www.phila.gov/streets/recycling.html).

Recycling is not difficult. With just a little time and organization getting set up, it is simple. The above picture shows the recycling closet in our home (no, it's not pretty, but it does help keep the land, water, and air pretty). It takes a bit of space, but those few feet in your home save thousands in the land where garbage is dumped. Luckily, ours is collected and we just set it on the street at the scheduled time. I admit that makes it more "user-friendly". Still, how hard is it to put the empty cereal box in a recyclable box than in the trash? How hard is it to throw away a milk jug in the recycled garbage than in the regular? How hard is it to dump the potato peels in the compost rather than the trash? It isn't! And when you think about the land you save by doing so, every person should be proud to recycle. This is our world, the place we live, and we need to take care of it!

As I return to America for our summer vacation, I hope that I don't regress. I like being green! I think that I am doing my part in making the world a healthier, more beautiful place to live. And I hope that if you don't already recycle, that I have made you green...green with envy that you too aren't doing your part...and that your envy turns to just "being green".