Transformed through Trash

When I lived out east, recycling was a requirement. We all had our bins to set curb-side and it was dutifully picked up by the sanitation department. It was clear that with so many people occupying such little space the trash would consume us all if we did not reduce our quantity. It made sense, it was the norm, and we recycled.

Upon moving to Greenville, I went into culture shock. I can remember feeling horrified by my own hand placing can after can into the trash. In my daze of moving, staying at home with a toddler in a rented house, and expecting a new baby, I half- heartedly asked about recycling and was met with shrugs and “I don’t knows.” Slowly I became quite skilled at tossing anything away with no thought.

I’m not sure how it happened. If it was my recent education on the state of world poverty from Sider’s book, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, or Katrina’s devastation- among others, reading the Old Testament through, or Al Gore’s movie about global warming, The Inconvenient Truth. . . but, I woke up one day and knew. I had to recycle. I can hear your chuckles, but I’m dead serious. I realized my actions matter, despite how small or insignificant they may seem. This was no longer a case of recycling to follow the rules, but recycling to change the world. Along with recycling comes reducing and reusing. The three Rs.

I’ve been told by critics that the water I use to rinse out my cans is a waste, and that the gas I use to drop off my recycling is a waste and pollutes the air. This may be true, but I can say this, that we’ve reduced our weekly trash by half. If every one in Greenville did the same, that land fill at the edge of town wouldn’t be so full. Materials would be reused and not just rotting in the ground. My children know the difference between trash and something that can be recycled, and their habits and attitudes could be crucial to the earth in future years. I have also been changed through this process of recycling. My spending habits have changed drastically. I give more, I donate more, I reuse more, and overall I feel less bogged down with stuff or the desire for more stuff. Overall, I think it’s worth a little extra water or gas. Plus, I’ve found that if you drop off recycling on the way to the store or running other errands, it’s not costing that much more. Also, if you rinse your cans out right away before the food gets dried, it comes out easily with hardly any water used. For those sticklers out there, you can use the same water to rinse multiple cans.

We are a wealthy country in a world of poverty. We look around and see wide open spaces of land and feel no need to reduce our trash. We no longer have the luxury of living like we are the only ones on the planet. Our actions do matter. The Feb. 19^th issue of Time ran an article stating that according to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control (IPCC), they “concluded for the first time that evidence of the earth’s rising temperatures was “unequivocal” and that this warming was more than 90% likely to be the result of human activity.” The article, Raising the Climate Stakes, goes on to say that even if things were miraculously fixed tomorrow “we are locked into more climate change” at least through the century. Even with 600 scientists from 40 countries declaring officially there is global warming, leaders are fighting over who should change. It reminds me of my children – “No, you first,” “That’s not fair, you first.” China wants its “hay-day” of industrial living and feels the US was first to cause all the major carbon emissions, so the US should be first to clean up their act.

I think if there is to be change, it will be from people like you and me. People who decide to change their lives in small and big ways, and demand more out of companies and industries that drive this monster. If we know that our actions in this wealthy land contribute to climate changes and weather patterns that devastate poorer countries, or our own, how can we not change? I believe it becomes a moral issue.

As the hymn goes, “This is Our Father’s World”. We were given it to tend and care for. It’s not just a rock. It’s alive, it breathes, it sustains us, and it speaks out, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard, yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world,” Psalm 19.

I hope this site will be a way to help myself and others live more consciously. I also hope this site will be a source for practical information on living green which will help us all to live clean and lean in the great city of Greenville.

bulk of article written in 2/2007