This is a thing here!
There are reverse vending machines at every Wal-Mart that I've been to so far. You put a designated bottle or can in, you get money back. Cool! Save the planet. Make a little money...perks right?
I'm not sure if that's how I'd frame it. But it's what they WANT you to think.
Do you see that little "IA Deposit - $0.30" ??? I was really confused as to what it was when reviewing my receipt. Then a conversation I just had on Sunday came back to me. Our friends the Teed's were telling us that Iowa charges you extra for soda pop as an incentive to recycle the containers. So a 12-pack of Pepsi will cost you an additional $0.60 compared to anywhere else ($0.05 for each can). I thought that was a bit strange, but failed to see how it could directly affect me...we don't buy cans of pop. I just responded to the conversation with a half-hearted, "That's lame!"
Well...lately we've been buying bottles of pop to keep in our fridge while staying in the hotel. And all along, I've been charged a little sneaky fee during our month's stay here! I'm a little miffed! Because suddenly it is affecting me! And suddenly I care!
Why do I care?
Look, I'm a huge fan of recycling, but (as I've recently come to learn about myself) only when it's convenient. I'm happy to sort things and do my bit - pro bono even! - if you provide me with a bin. That has not been the case with the last few places I've lived. If I've ever felt obligated to recycle, I've always had the option to take it somewhere locally and sort it myself. But that takes time. And frankly, I value my time over the hassle of cluttering my home as I stock-pile my recycling in an attempt to save our planet (Gah. I sound like a witch!). This is my reality right now - twisted and sad as it may be. I've gotten used to chucking everything.
And I get it. I get that's why Iowa is charging you this little fee (like, really...$0.30...it's chill). It's incentive enough to make you think twice before you throw it away! I think my biggest issue is the fact that I didn't ask for it. It's forcing me to change the hierarchy of what I value and I get nailed for not feeling the same way as someone else. I guess that's really what irks me.
Waa. Waa.
Another story about recycling!
My friend Linley lives in West Liberty and she was really awesome to take me on a tour of our future town (I can't wait to be out of the hotel)! She drove me through the streets and neighborhoods and pointed out significant places - like where to take my recycling. It's a community self-sort area (btw...you don't have the incentive of getting paid to bring it there). And the community is really awesome to wash and sort their recyclables in preparation of bringing it to this little outdoor space!
As the story goes, the most recent town scandal involved the city manager getting fired when he was paying someone to haul the dumpsters off to the landfill and not a nearby recycling center. Gasp!
If that's the most scandalous thing my new town is up to, I'll take it.
I do understand why the community was mad though! If I was taking the time to set aside all my recycling and haul it off just so that it could be thrown away anyway, I'd be irritated too! Because if I'm finally going to make a priority to do that in my LIFE, don't just throw that away.
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I'm going to need to find something else to be more passionate about around here besides recycling.
2 comments:
Love the blog. That might make me stop buying pop... No it wouldn't. It would just irritate me
Seattle.... The capitol of guilt induced recycling. I got sick of having three garbage cans, figuring out what went in them and washing the stuff. I would throw things in the wrong can just to be a jerk and stick it to the man! I especially hated the 5 cent charge for every plastic bag at the store, and no other option of paper. I was up in arms when they came out with that one! Once Olivia and I were at the arcade and used our tickets to buy candy, only to find out no bags. At all. So we are in downtown Seattle with tons of candy. We ended up stuffing candy in our coats, pants pockets, socks and Olivia's boots. I was livid. You can't afford a small paper bag? Arrrrrrg! Really????? But marijuana drive ins, and lingerie barista stands? A-okay.
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