As it is bin day today, I thought I'd share a photo I took a few months ago. I found that one of our recycling bins at the shop had been filled to the brim with wine and beer glasses and karafes, some in their cardboard boxes. Some were broken but many were intact. I believe a local establishment may have chosen to dispose of some of their flood impacted items into my bin.
Unfortunately, the rubbish truck team couldn't empty it, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was too heavy for the garbos to move. Secondly, drinking glasses and broken glass are not recyclable. So it became my responsibility to take care of it. I couldn't scoop it out with a shovel so had to go through the entire smelly bin and sort all items one by one. I transferred all broken glass to the landfill bin, while collecting anything not broken and washing, sterilising and preparing for donation.
This is an opportunity for us to remember that even when we throw something 'away' into the bin, there is truly no 'away'. Everything we ever made and used has either been made into something else, is in a big hole in the ground (usually in a much poorer nation than ours) or has been released into nature as litter.
The residents and business owners of Rochester have been through a lot since October so I was happy enough to deal with the glassware this time, but I'd prefer it if everyone took care of their own rubbish instead of chucking it in my bin.
ความคิดเห็น