Before we went to Toronto in May, we heard that they were charging for paper or plastic grocery bags at the stores. So, I bought a few cloth bags in Texas to give our friends and found a few Canadian ones to bring back home to Texas. In East Texas, we are just starting to take our own cloth bags to the supermarkets. Some of the stores are offering the bags for as little as fifty cents and most are only $1.00. Most have attractive designs and it is easy to just put them in the back of the car and then put them in your cart at the store.
Hubby used to tease when I first came here that he had to accompany me to the store because I had difficulty understanding when the check-out person was asking me - in what was an accent to me - "Paper or Plastic?"
We have just been issued new, larger recycling bins (on wheels) in our city. They have a handle and are easily rolled to curbside. We have one day for recycle pickup and another for regular garbage which goes in a new grey barrel. (The barrel system was in effect when I came here over twelve years ago but they have just assigned new, larger barrels.)
I better explain that these barrels are designed to be facing with the opening side to the street. The truck is designed to pick up the barrel, lift it and tip its contents into the back of the truck.
I sure would have loved to have a wheeled barrel for all those newspapers I had to put into a blue box in Thornhill and carry 100 feet to curbside. What I used to do, actually, was carry what I could and go back for some more papers until I had them all at curbside. You might know, if you are a regular reader, that we used to subscribe to three papers at that time in GTA (Greater Toronto Area).
When I go back, especially to Port Hope, I am always interested in the very small portions of regular garbage that people place at curbside, alongside a large bag of recycle. When I first moved to Port Hope, I was delighted to see how well their program worked. It worked so well that by the second year I was there, they were able to build their own recycling plant in the county.
I am never sure why many people are not into the habit of recycling. It is really pretty simple once you get the hang of it. One thing our city does not take in the recycle is glass and I was sorry when that was ruled.
On recycle nights there are precious few blue barrels on our street and that makes me feel sad.
Since I have been here, we have had the slogan "Don't Mess With Texas" and they do have groups of volunteers who pick up refuse from the shoulders of the highways. I still wonder why people toss stuff out of their cars onto the side of the road in the first place.
We have just posted nice signs around town to tie in with our Lufkin Panther Sporting Teams to indicate that we should not litter. That's a good touch of "Pride".
It's much easier than you think to have two containers in your kitchen to separate your refuse at the source. We also have a box set aside for newspapers, magazines and junk mail. I hope you are seriously thinking of how you dispose of what you no longer need.
So that I leave you smiling, we also have something that goes by several names - ours is an "Insinkerator" to be precise - which works well for many items as long as you remember not to place your cutlery in that sink! You must be careful to follow the manufacturer's instructions on that one but it is handy!
Ah, yes, I should tell you that one person in Thornhill did have a large garbage can on wheels although now I know it would have been difficult for the workers to empty into a regular old-fashioned truck. Since everyone thought it was nice to have her in the neighborhood, I am sure nothing was ever mentioned. That was Anne Murray (the singer) who lived just the other side of the Pond.
Hubby used to tease when I first came here that he had to accompany me to the store because I had difficulty understanding when the check-out person was asking me - in what was an accent to me - "Paper or Plastic?"
We have just been issued new, larger recycling bins (on wheels) in our city. They have a handle and are easily rolled to curbside. We have one day for recycle pickup and another for regular garbage which goes in a new grey barrel. (The barrel system was in effect when I came here over twelve years ago but they have just assigned new, larger barrels.)
I better explain that these barrels are designed to be facing with the opening side to the street. The truck is designed to pick up the barrel, lift it and tip its contents into the back of the truck.
I sure would have loved to have a wheeled barrel for all those newspapers I had to put into a blue box in Thornhill and carry 100 feet to curbside. What I used to do, actually, was carry what I could and go back for some more papers until I had them all at curbside. You might know, if you are a regular reader, that we used to subscribe to three papers at that time in GTA (Greater Toronto Area).
When I go back, especially to Port Hope, I am always interested in the very small portions of regular garbage that people place at curbside, alongside a large bag of recycle. When I first moved to Port Hope, I was delighted to see how well their program worked. It worked so well that by the second year I was there, they were able to build their own recycling plant in the county.
I am never sure why many people are not into the habit of recycling. It is really pretty simple once you get the hang of it. One thing our city does not take in the recycle is glass and I was sorry when that was ruled.
On recycle nights there are precious few blue barrels on our street and that makes me feel sad.
Since I have been here, we have had the slogan "Don't Mess With Texas" and they do have groups of volunteers who pick up refuse from the shoulders of the highways. I still wonder why people toss stuff out of their cars onto the side of the road in the first place.
We have just posted nice signs around town to tie in with our Lufkin Panther Sporting Teams to indicate that we should not litter. That's a good touch of "Pride".
It's much easier than you think to have two containers in your kitchen to separate your refuse at the source. We also have a box set aside for newspapers, magazines and junk mail. I hope you are seriously thinking of how you dispose of what you no longer need.
So that I leave you smiling, we also have something that goes by several names - ours is an "Insinkerator" to be precise - which works well for many items as long as you remember not to place your cutlery in that sink! You must be careful to follow the manufacturer's instructions on that one but it is handy!
Ah, yes, I should tell you that one person in Thornhill did have a large garbage can on wheels although now I know it would have been difficult for the workers to empty into a regular old-fashioned truck. Since everyone thought it was nice to have her in the neighborhood, I am sure nothing was ever mentioned. That was Anne Murray (the singer) who lived just the other side of the Pond.
2 comments:
Good article. I might add we have a shred machine which we dump in a bag of it's own so it does not scatter and make a mess on yard or street. It goes into paper recycle.
Here is a good website for finding recycling centers - learn how to recycle electronics and related items
http://1800recycling.com
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