Recycling A Sign of Poverty

This cup has a chip. I should throw it away. Why should I, when ! can use it for kitchen sponges? 

I swore that I'll never use them to wash dishes, but I got lazy to wash dish towels.

I cheat on recycling and thinking about the environment, until something reminds me of my omission. A Swedish store that sells everything from shower curtains to duvet covers does that because it sells all kinds of holders. There are cups that hold family toothbrushes, then there are two holders attached near bathroom mirrors so that you can reach for them while admiring your lovely self. Toothbrushes cannot be recycled. Those holders too.

Mama used to recycle but we didn’t call it that. We called it poverty. “I can use this for something else.” Was Mama thinking about the environment when she didn’t throw out broken cups, like the one in this blog photo? No, she had money on her mind, because she had very little in her purse. No linear thinking for Mama. She cast the net wide. That’s why we used old T-Shirts for dusting. I first saw a yellow duster at a friend’s house. They were middle class because the mother was a nursing sister and the father a radio announcer. I vowed that one day, I’ll get a job and buy Mama a yellow duster so that she could stop dusting with old clothes.

What is recycling? It starts with recycling the mind on what is needed, and not what is liked. I was disappointed when this very Swedish store started selling drinking straws. How do we recycle that, especially because kids take a few sips then throw away both the can and the straw? This store also sells sponges for washing dishes, but it still has a whole section of dish towels across the aisle.

I’m the last person to be talking about recycling the mind because I’m guilty. I use kitchen sponges because dish towels are a lot of work. How? I must wash them! With sponges, I throw them away after a few weeks. Another omission to consider the environment, by my own admission.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.