One small step for recycling.....

Sometimes it seems as if we can't win in this world no matter how much we care or want to make things better. I feel this especially when it comes to recycling. Most people act as if recycling takes so much effort they would never be able to achieve it. That changing that small habit of just chucking whatever they use in the garbage would be harder then landing on the moon. My work has been a classic example. I put out recycling bins for all the employee's to put plastic, glass, and aluminum items into. Some co-workers have used the bins daily, while others think it is nothing more then another garbage can.

I guess we all feel we have a windmill to conquer and mine is making people look at how they dispose of their waste. If they take the time to separate out their whites when they do laundry, why can't they separate out their trash? So, no longer wanting to be on the side line of this issue, I started looking places that I use frequently to see what they had in place for a recycling program. The first place that came to mind is the gym I work at. While running one night I observed a guy buy three water bottles and drink them all in an hours time, then through them into the trash. I then watched the employee come around and collect the trash for the evening. I realized at that moment I needed to speak up. To help people make see a different choice.

I should state that I'm not a pushy person. In fact I'd say I'm a pacifist most of the time. Some issues though I just can't said by. I felt that by being a member of the gym I would not be out of line to see if the owner would like to provide a place for its patrons to recycle items. So, off I went and wrote an email to the owner.

Two days later I received a very positive reply. She thanked me for my email, and said she would love to do that, but stated some logistical issues that had to be worked out first before something like that could be done. Where would the bin go so that it would not be a hazard? Where would the recycling go till it was picked up? They were short on storage and didn't really have any place to put it. Who would be in charge of emptying it? She assured me that they would figure something out. I thanked her for being so positive and went off thinking that it would be to much hassle for them. Again, I felt I hadn't made a change. My windmill still stood proudly defying me.

A week passed by where I had little time for the gym due to school and work. Then last Thursday I went to the gym. I walked in as normal and went to the machine I usually use. As I started my work out something by the back of the gym caught my eye. I looked over and there sat a beautiful little bit with a big recycling sign on it and above it on the wall. It had worked! There was a bin at the gym! I walked over and there were already 4 water bottles in it!! I almost did a little girl skip across the gym in my excitement. Now not only myself, but other had the option it not fill out land and ocean with plastic.

As I drove home I smiled with the knowledge of what had changed. I then I wondered, "am I just patting myself on the back?" Had I not been the only one to mention it to the owner? Would they put one out eventually even if I had never said anything? Hmmm, questions I guess we all ask ourselves. How much do we really change the world around us?