Raised to Recycle

Reprinted from original publication in June 2010 at the http://stlfamilylife.com/


Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—it’s a mantra you hear just about everywhere you go. And it’s starting to get irritating to me. It’s not that I don’t believe in recycling because I do. What bothers me is the whole idea that this is a new concept and ‘they’ (whoever ‘they’ are) are trying to sell the American people on it. Even though I am only in my early to mid 40’s, this is something I’ve been doing for more than 30 years. It’s in my blood and a way of life for me. What took you so long, people?

For a long time St. Louisans, you may remember the un-manned recycling center next to the Marshall’s and Target stores on Manchester Road. There were concrete bins divided into categories: aluminum cans, tin cans, white glass, colored glass, and plastics. There was also a trailer nearby where you could deposit your old newspapers. On a regular basis my mom would load up the back of our car or station wagon with all the recyclables and I’d go with her to dump them. The glass items were the best. With as much strength as I could muster, I’d throw the glass one by one against the concrete walls to shatter them to smithereens. Honestly, I remember it taking a long time to deposit them. I am not sure she pre-sorted the contents so we’d have to carefully sort and dump them accordingly. In addition to this center, we would also drive to Kirkwood to drop off cardboard boxes and loose leaf paper, which were not accepted at the Target/Marshall’s location. I applaud my mom’s efforts. It was time consuming and definitely inconvenient. Yet, she saw the value and did her part to ‘save the planet’ way before it was the IN thing to do.

I still remember vividly the day we went to make our usual stop on Manchester Road and discovered it was gone. I am not sure if my mom was surprised or angry—maybe both. Being resourceful, she quickly found another location to recycle. It was even less convenient but she was undeterred. As a young adult, I continued to recycle. Usually I would collect my plastics and aluminum cans and bring them to my parent’s house around the time she’d make the drive. Assorted papers and newspapers were sent as well. Plastic and paper bags were returned at the collection site at the local grocery stores. I was trained well.

What a great day it was when citywide refuse, recycling and yard waste collection was made available—literally at our door step. Recycling had never been easier. In West County, codes 1 through 5 are accepted, with code 6 “polystyrene” not yet accepted. We’re even provided the bin to collect our recyclables. Cardboard and loose leaf papers are not allowed either. But fear not. Did you know that Parkway School District school and many area churches have green and yellow recycling bins to dump your junk mail and other non-sensitive material paper overflow? Corrugated cardboard is also collected behind schools. You will also find aluminum can recycling bins and a clothing bin on most of the same parking lots. A one-stop drop off for many of the items your local trash/recycling company will not pick up. And the bonus—the schools and churches earn money for the items you drop off. Win-win for everyone.

Recycling does not and should not be limited to our kitchen and office waste. In fact, twice a year St. Louis County Health Department hosts a series of spring and fall collection of bigger household waste items. Finding a temporary location has become increasingly difficult with businesses being open seven days a week. Fortunately, Earthbound Recycling Center in Eureka has opened to meet the demands of St. Louisans wanting to do the right thing. Open six days a week (closed Sundays), they accept metals, electronics, motors and lead items; any type of paper (including phone books, which is generally rejected at paper collection sites), chip board, tin cans and plastics and glass. Earthbound also purchases copper and brass metals and aluminum and stainless steels. For a small fee, they will accept unwanted latex paints (15 cents per pound). It’s also a free drop-off site for computer towers, flat-panel TV’s, water heaters, cast iron or galvanized pipe, lawn mowers, cell phones, rechargeable batteries, vinyl siding. The list is endless. For a complete listing, their web address is http://www.earthboundrecycling.com/.

Truly, recycling has never been easier and it’s really inexcusable to not utilize the recycling opportunities that are lay at our feet. We can all do our part to save the planet for generations to come—one can at a time.