Recycling Inconsistency

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Old piece posted on 16 April, 2023.

I'm my mother's daughter. She washed bottles and used them for beans, rice or spices.

Confession time. It’s bad, but I’m not consistent with recycling and because of human nature, I will pass the buck, blame somebody else.

Just like your city, we have blue recycling bins. Maybe I should say one, because two grew feet and walked away from the designated garbage spot. We thought City Hall repossessed them. It did not. I got the explanation when I saw a homeless couple lugging a blue bin. I’ve seen others since then.

Homeless people are not using grocery carts anymore because grocery chains came up with a solution to stop carts’ theft.  Wheels lock, if you push them away from the store car park for a certain distance, let’s say 40 feet. Is that why homeless people are using blue bins to cart their life around?

That’s my lame excuse for being lax with recycling. There are things I used to set aside for recycling, not any more. I’m anonymous. Garbage men won’t know that those milk and egg cartons in the general thrash are mine.

I felt better about my sins a few days ago, when I came across the glass bottles in the photo. I washed them after I finished the spaghetti sauce and strawberry jam and forgot about them. I think I will use the bigger one to store pasta or bay leaves and sorrel teabags for the small one.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang. 

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