Recycling in Rockland County, New York

We have been recycling in my neighborhood for a number of years. I live in upstate New York in Rockland County in Ramapo Township and my family is certainly into recycling. We have two garbage bins, one for bottles and the like and one for newspapers, boxes & and other items that came from trees. Each Wednesday we put out the two bins and there are two garbage trucks that come at about nine am in the morning to pick it up. I have noticed that some towns in an effort to cut costs send one truck and have a split down the middle. Therefore one pile is for the bottles while the second part is for the other items. I suppose this can work, I would venture that those are smaller towns where the amount of garbage to recycle is less, or those towns are having their garbage collectors make more then one run.

If we think about it, recycling makes a lot of sense. If we have the technology to turn wasted material into something that is reusable again we all benefit. We leave less of a carbon footprint and we help those other creatures around us. I have long thought about ways to reduce the necessary garbage. Some of the more obvious ones are use dishes, use hard plastic cups. The common denominator of these is that they can be washed and used again.

I have passed the need to recycle on to my children. Whenever one of the children finish their soda bottle, water bottle or any other drink, they put it next to the regular garbage can. The day before recycle we go out and throw the bottles in. I try to make a game out of it. I pretend the recycle bin is a basketball hoop and the bottles are the ball. We then see who can get the most into the basket. I think that way it makes recycling fun and enjoyable. The more that your children enjoy something, the more likely they are to keep at it through time as they grow older. I also believe that this will increase the chances of this being passed down to future generations.

It is extremely important that we recycle. I feel that if we can cut down less tress then that is something that can only help the world and not harm it. We should feel an obligation do this as this is not a real inconvenience, and as I said earlier it is something that when made fun can certainly be passed on to future generations.