Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> At work we recycle certain foam plastics. It is amazing how many people
> drive over to us with a big SUV to drop off a tiny bit of plastic to
> recycle. They burn 20X the amount of gas than they saved. It they toss it
> in the trash, it goes to a trash to energy facility instead.

So, I marry Bob and decide that I need to get with the "green" program.
We pay our CRV fees with every plastic and aluminum purchase. I sort,
clean and otherwise store all these recyclable items for a full year in
the garage. I mean, the green glass can't possibly go with the clear
glass. It all has to be color coordinated. I was also very picky about
separating the types of plastic items by size, original CRV value and
color. Load them into my SUV (filled the back and all open spaces),
drive them to our state-of-the-art waste facility (yes, there's an SUV
there with a young couple getting pennies for a few cans).

Even after all the careful sorting, I'm learning what I really needed to
do and am RE-SORTING things (with four or five employees jacking their
jaws showing me where to throw things.) Then the cashier says ...
"Here's your $24.36." Well, FTS. We pay a PREMIUM for our trash services
here. They can now sort my trash. However, I do still separate the
glass, plastic and aluminum and when the trash goes out those are in
their own bags. Interesting thing is the only time they provide us with
a recyclable "container" it's a blue plastic bag for our paper products
and junk mail -- and those I have to get from City Hall. (Or should that
be City "Haul"?)

I can guarantee you our CRV/deposit amounts were several times more than
what we got back. For $24.36, let someone else do the work. And if
there's someone around that wants the cans, I have no problem letting
them have them.

--Lin