Friday, December 17, 2010
'Tis the Season
Here in Alvin, Texas, we put our recyclables out by the street (not by the curb; we don't have curbs) twice a month. Yesterday was the day, and I carried the big green plastic bin out and set it at the end of the driveway. A couple of hours later, the truck hadn't come by for the stuff, so I took another plastic bottle out so I could drop it in the bin. When I got there, I could tell at a glance that things had changed. There wasn't as much stuff in the bin as when I'd put it out. It took a second glance for me to realize that someone had gone through the bin and taken out all the aluminum cans. I wonder if the same person had done down the length of the block doing the same thing. It's a new way to pick up Christmas cash, or maybe whoever took the cans needed the money for a hamburger. The whole thing made me feel a little sad.
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8 comments:
Maybe this practice has just reached Alvin.
Trash and recycling are picked up on the same day here. I set the trash and recycle bins far enough apart so most of the recycling doesn't end up in the trash while someone is sorting through it for the cans. Sad but true.
I live on the border, so we feel lucky if people put trash in the can for the truck instead of dumping in allies. Recycling is practically unheard of here.
That is sad though. There are lots of people nickle and diming their way home on buses this time of year.
Perhaps you should put your aluminum cans in a separate bin next time. And if it's truly someone needy, perhaps put a ten-spot on top off the pile.
**but don't advertise the part about the ten-spot! Fully half of your followers (you now who you are!) will be going through your trash on pick-up day!**
Welcome to my world. We have to recycle every week and there are people scouring the recyclables for deposit cans and bottles just as often - usually old Chinese women with overflowing shopping carts (and I mean overflowing) or guys driving around in panel trucks filled with stuff they pick up.
Jeff
They all live in mansions and drive Bentleys. Those cans are worth a lot if you collect enough, and I have a feeling your Dr Pepper castoffs make a large pile.
This is not a recent development. About 15 years ago, the city council where I was then living urged everyone to put out their recycle bins no earlier than 6:00 AM on collection day to discourage "looting." I had no problem with people going through my recycle bin looking for items they could redeem, but I really hated the fact that some of them would just leave the stuff they couldn't use on the lawn instead of putting it back in the bin.
I put the bin out around 7:45 in the morning. Everything was put neatly back in it, so I have no complaints.
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