Recycling

When I was young, I'm going to guess 6ish, I was chosen to be in a puppet show that was filmed and used as a PSA in our local community. It was about recycling and I still remember the words to the song:

"Actually and factually it's true, recycling's really for you. The big green box will surely hold lots but it depends upon you.

Plastic and glass, cans and such, need to be rinsed or maybe just crushed. Newspapers stacked under the bin... The recycling team is going to win!"

Twenty-five years ago recycling services weren't in every city, and the fact that our small community was starting a recycling program was a big deal. Back then, there were also far fewer things that were taken as recyclables and the sorting process was a lot more stringent.




Today, the majority of the packaging you use is recyclable and most communities don't require you to separate and crush items anymore. When it comes down to it, I can't think of a reason setting up a system for recycling would make your life any harder. It really is for you, just like the words in the song.

I know I probably skew a bit hippie when it comes to saving the earth, but the bottom line for our family is that we enjoy the earth every day. Being outside, hiking, digging in the dirt, going to the beach... We're not a TV family, so this is how you'll see us enjoying our days. We add composting and water/electricity conservation to our list of things to do on a daily basis because it's important to us. We also try our best to buy in bulk or choose companies who use little packaging. We get as much food as we can locally, cook from scratch, use homemade green cleaners and purchase items from farms who have sustainable practices. When we build our dream home, we hope it's powered by the sun with a big rain barrel out back. Until then, our much smaller than average house helps us make a big dent in our carbon footprint.

Recycling was my start, my introduction into conservation and green living. I pray that you find yours and that some of the ideas on this blog might push you in that direction. The links listed in this post are a great place to start.

Because, in all honesty, like the song says, it all depends upon you!