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May 30, 2008
Garbage Woes
In the last set of comments Miss L said she was concerned about the Herbie and asked if it was a rubbish bin. It is a rubbish bin and I have no idea why we call it a Herbie. We put all our garbage into it because this town doesn’t really care about recycling as far as I am concerned.
They do have a recycling center, I will give them that. It is located right next to the place where all the other garbage is sent, but it is a recycling center none the less. The problem I have is that I have to sort out the items from home and then lug them all down to the center myself. I am one of these people who wouldn’t want to save garbage for weeks on end, so I would be lugging my recyclables downtown every other day.
Lexington, a city which is only twenty minutes away from here, but much larger, gave its residents 65-gallon Rosie bins. Rosie = Recycling. Lexington offers Household CURBSIDE Collection. This is a wonderful system and I know many people use the service. I know I would love to have this system in place in Winchester. I wouldn’t mind at all having a blue bin full of recyclables. It would make me feel like I was doing some good. Since I am aware of the opportunity downtown, I do feel bad about not recycling, but not bad enough to lug my own garbage down there twice a week.
I know that Miss L has a compost pile. I wasn’t raised doing this, so it is totally foreign to me. I don’t think we would have much that could be put in a compost pile because we use a lot of prepackaged food. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe someone needs to write a post about their own compost pile and tell me what they put in it, what they do to it, and how the compost is used.
Winchester will pick up yard waste, so I don’t understand why they won’t pick up recyclables. I assume it all boils down to money. Maybe they would have to charge the community more on their bill each month and the community does not find it worthwhile. This is only an assumption. I have no idea their reasoning.
I have many readers in Winchester, some who rarely if ever comment. I would like to hear your opinions on this matter (and those who live out of town too). Would you really recycle if a Rosie was offered to you? Remember, you are under the cone of safety here, so if you answer no, no one is allowed to bash you ;)
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Posted by tami at May 30, 2008 9:11 AM
Comments
We used to take our plastic and glass to the recycle center located about 20 minutes away every other week, but now the county picks up plastic and glass. We still take our paper to the recycle center though. Just get yourself a separate container for recycables and take them to the center when it is full. You don't have to "keep them around the house" until you drop them off. Line a garbage can with a blue bag, and drop the items in there. When it gets full, tie up the bag and pop it in your trunk. We only put out "garbage" every other week, and even then our bin is not full. We save so much waste by recycling. And it helps keep costs down. Ian read an article about the price of a new pop can vs. using a recycled can, and it is amazing the HUGE savings by recycling. As food costs continue to rise, it is up to us, the consumer, to take the steps we can to help companies subdue rising costs. And yes, we do compost. You can put anything that isn't an animal product on the compost pile along with yard waste. It will form humus, which is ultra-rich organic soil you can use as mulch, fertilizer or potting soil. Your plants will LOVE it. Just start a pile up in the corner of your yard. No special tools needed.
Posted by: Tammy at May 30, 2008 9:38 AM
Tammy, you are speaking my language! Composting gets to be addictive too! I can see that I shall have to write a post on this when it next rains.. but I love the idea of Daisies and Herbies, it adds to the colour of life!
Posted by: Miss L at May 31, 2008 5:20 AM
In Paris they have a recycling program, but we never participated in it. My parents were old school so they just throw everything away. I on the other hand would at least through out the leftovers for the animals in the neighborhood to eat. This kept them out of the trash cans!
I was surprised when I moved to Winchester that they did not have a recycling program. I did not realize there was a center where you could take stuff either. You will have to e-mail me those details! Maybe i can start doing that.
p.s. I agree with Tammy with the cost of everything rising we all need to do something to try and help. Plus it's saving the earth!
Posted by: deanna at May 31, 2008 9:12 PM