Why Recycle When You Can Refuse?
Each week a free paper is delivered to our home. Each week I walk it from the paper-box to the trash can. When my dad was alive, he would recycle these papers, but with shorter hours at the recycling center and higher gas prices, we often wondered if his efforts were worth it. Now the papers become instant garbage.
I've received this paper for years; I never wanted it, read it, or used it (except as a fire-starter or for those projects whose cleanup benefited from the liberal dispersal of newspaper).
"Enough of this madness," I said one day. Instead of feeling guilty about not recycling, I would skirt the issue by not receiving the paper in the first place. To be expedient, I removed the paper-box (and threw it away). Not to be deterred, the carrier merely put the paper in a different box. Next, I called the publisher; to my surprise, they cheerfully "canceled" my subscription. Two weeks have gone by and no more paper. Refusing the paper is much easier than recycling could ever be.
Encouraged by this, I will next tackle all the free magazines I receive that I don't want or read. Most of them I never even requested; they just started showing up — and keep showing up.
Another area of refusal —that I've been doing for years — is bags for the merchandise I buy. It perplexes me that even when I buy only one item, it is automatically bagged. Checkers are shocked with I decline their bag and stunned when I remove my purchase from the bag, leaving it there for the next customer. I do the same thing with two or three items, though I don't recommend more than six. I tried that once and the result wasn't good; sometimes you need a bag.
Refusing trumps recycling every time. It may not be much, but if everyone does a little, it can really mean a lot.
I've received this paper for years; I never wanted it, read it, or used it (except as a fire-starter or for those projects whose cleanup benefited from the liberal dispersal of newspaper).
"Enough of this madness," I said one day. Instead of feeling guilty about not recycling, I would skirt the issue by not receiving the paper in the first place. To be expedient, I removed the paper-box (and threw it away). Not to be deterred, the carrier merely put the paper in a different box. Next, I called the publisher; to my surprise, they cheerfully "canceled" my subscription. Two weeks have gone by and no more paper. Refusing the paper is much easier than recycling could ever be.
Encouraged by this, I will next tackle all the free magazines I receive that I don't want or read. Most of them I never even requested; they just started showing up — and keep showing up.
Another area of refusal —that I've been doing for years — is bags for the merchandise I buy. It perplexes me that even when I buy only one item, it is automatically bagged. Checkers are shocked with I decline their bag and stunned when I remove my purchase from the bag, leaving it there for the next customer. I do the same thing with two or three items, though I don't recommend more than six. I tried that once and the result wasn't good; sometimes you need a bag.
Refusing trumps recycling every time. It may not be much, but if everyone does a little, it can really mean a lot.
Posted by Peter DeHaan at 8/22/2008 4:37 PM 
Categories: Publishing, Ecology
Tags: recycle trash Peter DeHaan blog author Peter DeHaan Peter DeHaan Musings Musings of Peter DeHaan
Categories: Publishing, Ecology
Tags: recycle trash Peter DeHaan blog author Peter DeHaan Peter DeHaan Musings Musings of Peter DeHaan
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