[img]958|left|Alex Campbell||no_popup[/img]Dateline Boston — Lately I’ve been throwing things away. And I do mean throwing them away—not recycling them, not giving them away, not bringing them to the second-hand store.
I’m a huge advocate of recycling and giving things away. Every week, S.O. and I fill our recycle bin with containers, milk jugs, newspapers, and bottles. We shred all of our junk mail as well as note paper, and recycle that. I’ve given many old towels to the local veterinary office. When we moved in together, we packed up several boxes and brought them to the used clothing and furniture store. Every time we reach the end of a roll of toilet paper, I dutifully remove the roll, bring it down the hall and into the kitchen, and recycle it. I thought everyone did. Last week at a friend’s house, I saw a toilet paper roll in her bathroom wastebasket. I was shocked.
It triggered something in me because the next thing I knew, I was throwing away plastic bags instead of bringing them to school for the kids to take their art home in. I put three old towels in a garbage bag today.* I took my cat’s old cat toys, broke them in half and put them in the trash instead of giving them to a friend who just got a kitten.
A Matter of Space, Cramped
I know a lot of people who use a lot of hours keeping unnecessary things in the houses, just so they can give them to “the right person.” It takes up a lot of space to do that, both physically and mentally. I’m all for cleaning out; it’s just that I don’t usually do it as “freely” as I’ve done in the past few days.
Sure, I feel a little rebellious and not-so-environmentally friendly when I throw things away, but a few things a few times a year will not destroy the earth or make me a bad person. Besides, I make up for it every week when I recycle my contact lens containers and those little subscription cards that fall out of magazines. Those I never throw away.
*Note: I didn’t have the heart to actually throw those old towels all the way away. I remembered that we use them at school in the summer for kids who forget their towels when the sprinklers come on. The cat toys go; the towels don’t. Guess I’m a little greener than I thought.
Ms. Campbell may be contacted at snobbyblog@gmail.com
