Growing up I never heard the word “recycle.” Living on a farm, our paper trash was burned in a metal barrel.  Our kitchen waste was fed to various animals. Our cans and bottles went to the city dump and are probably still there mostly intact after 70 years. Somehow it didn’t seem like we had as much trash as we have today, but we weren’t very worried about the effect on our world.  Sacks from stores were paper, not plastic bags that don’t biodegrade and end up in oceans and deface the land. A few years ago,  I was in a South American country with beautiful landscapes of mountains and terraced fields, but the roadsides were absolutely covered with dumped trash. Leftovers from restaurants used to go home in doggie bags that actually got given to the dog not in styrofoam that saves human food but lasts in our landfills forever. One local facility which feeds hundred of people uses all styrofoam for all meals rather than washable dishes.  In rural areas, much of our food came from our garden and canned in reusable jars.

Today my trash goes to work with my husband. While he complains almost daily that his truck has become my personal garbage truck, he cooperates by putting recyclables in his work recycle bin and the trash in his trash bin. St. Paul’s needs your cooperation also. The statistics on trash is astounding.  Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. Every 3 months Americans throw away enough aluminum cans to build our entire commercial air fleet. Being from Iowa where we have a can deposit helps, but even that doesn’t seem to motivate everyone to participate. We believe that this contributes to global warming and environmental pollution. Will we not run out of natural resources eventually?

You can help at St. Paul’s by knowing the difference between compost and recyclables. In general compost is all food except meat. This includes tea bags, coffee grounds, napkins, paper plates, and paper towels. Signs are posted by the bins.

Recyclables are flexible plastics with recycle numbers on the bottom, water bottles, newspapers, cardboard, chipboard cartons, paper, plastic silverware, metal, and glass. Some companies want the glass in a separate container because of the risk of breakage and they may also vary with the instructions for aluminum foil. Many grocery stores will take your plastic bags, but why use them at all?  Before the pandemic, many of us had become accustomed to using reusable bags. It appalls me how store clerks put one or two items in a bag.  

I know you may feel that your little bit doesn’t solve the problem. No it doesn’t. But taking care of this fantastic earth means a lot to me and I hope to you also.