Recycle

I admit it, I used to roll my eyes at the thought of recycling. For one, I had no appreciation for the shrill argument involving trash in space and holes in the ozone. The way it had been presented made me rear back on my haunches and shout, "Someday this world will be consumed by fire! So who cares?!" I had made friends with people who were slightly less shrill, but still difficult for me to handle. They used the argument that we needed to be "creation conscious," but would turn the talk into an attack on large churches, Republicans, and then ranted about examples and studies that seemed so outlandish and self-righteous that I, again, tuned out.

Then I became friends with Carrie Musielak. In her Eden home she religiously folded up old boxes, rinsed and stored plastic baggies, and collected soda cans. I was stunned when I came by to visit one morning before the trash had been collected, and I saw a mammoth recycle pile that equaled the size of the trash bin. Something in me clicked. I could do this. Carrie never shoved anything down my throat by lecturing, or accused me (in so many words) of being a lousy Christ-follower. She lived the example.

So I began learning what the recycle center would accept, made a little side container to put items in, and started on the road to recycling. (Note: The financial incentive that MI offers for soda cans and bottles was a huge reason that I did save those items when I lived there.)

I cloth diaper too, and I am amazed at how much less trash there is on a weekly basis when I'm using cloth. I've taken a break during the first trimester of my pregnancies because the nausea and vomiting is so severe, and the smell can be overwhelming. But today I fired up the cloth train and tossed the kids in their soft, white cloth Bumkins. It feels good to be back...

I accept the responsibility of trying to minimize the amount of disposable diapers that I toss into landfills. Plastic diapers (all disposables are plastic) do not biodegrade. Wouldn't it be amazing if they invented biodegradable disposable diapers? Wow...

All of this is now compounded by the fact that every time I drive to church I pass a huge landfill on Route 83. Matt and I have nicknamed it "the Rosebud." Stinks to high Heaven. And the little voice in my head says, This is why you must take your trash seriously. So now I buy paper bowls, paper plates, and soon paper cups when company comes over. It's why I get so bummed when the plastic baby food containers are #7 recyclables. Illinois accepts #1-5. It's why I'm flushing as much baby waste as possible. I don't pretend to be a hard-core, save-the-planet, God-hates-development-and-technology activist. The arguments still leave a bad taste in my mouth. But in a small way I'm taking the responsibility that I believe is reasonable for my family at this time. I run the household operations. I decide what comes in and goes out. And I have established recycling as a value for our family.