Don’t let recycling take a beating!

My family recently moved into a new home, and for the past few weeks I’ve heard my dad say the same saying over and over -

Recycling takes a beating during a move.

Recycling takes a beating during rebuilding.

Recycling takes a beating after a party.

I kept thinking these are the most important moments when recycling should not “take a beating.”

During our move, so many things were being thrown away. I would cringe to see things go straight into the trash when they could be recycled.

It’s the day-to-day recycling is what’s easy. When people get lazy, and have to put more effort into recycling, so much gets wasted. I couldn’t understand how my parents could feel PL about throwing away trash bags of plastic, paper, and cans. I felt I needed to open their eyes so they were seeing not just their own future, but their children’s and their future grandchildren’s.

So how did I try to correct this dangerous habit? I gave my parents two suggestions:

• First, when remodeling the kitchen, I told my parents it would be easier if they installed a pull out trash that has a recycling bin right behind it. That way, when going to throw something out, you’re reminded of recycling and it becomes a split-second decision.
• Second, for parties I offered a similar suggestion. Label two large trash barrels, one for trash and one for recycling to make cleaning up both simple and green!

Even after all this, my dad still had trouble, so I gave myself the responsibility of being in charge of the clean up and separating of recycling myself. As my dad would say, “If you want something done right, do it yourself!”

Finally, I reminded them of the many cute and beautiful grandchildren they’ll have in the future and if they want them to also live in a beautiful world, recycle. If that doesn’t hit home about recycling, I don’t know what will!