March 25, 2010 8:49 AM
Stewardship and recycling: a natural fit
Originally published 7/1/08:
You know I'm a big scoffer at the newest Chicken Little Worry Hype called Global Warming - maybe because I'm old enough to have experienced the media hype 30 years go about The Coming Ice Age (Yep, that's right folks - read about it here).
And I'm very skeptical of anything smacking of Earth-First or Save the Planet because it's often tied to someone's political agenda and usually it's not one I agree with.
I am a person who worships the Creator and not His creation.
However, I am a strong believer in good stewardship - which began for me back in the 70's, long before I even knew the word stewardship.
Back then I used to post signs on the bulletin board of our complex's laundry room telling people that the soap manufacturers were trying to rip them off with directions to use a cup or more of detergent per load. Even then, Consumer Reports had proven that you need only a quarter cup or less to do the job.
Nowadays - as I'm becoming ever more conscious of saving money and resources - I'm still thinking about the injustice of a country that over consumes - over-eating, over-packaging, over-indulging in unnecessary stuff (see my upcoming review of WALL-E) - while so many live in pain and poverty.
I am grateful this economic downturn has had a very immediate and life-changing effect on our family (more on this coming up this week, too) because it has taken me deeper into the heart of Christian materialism and greed I've been pondering for a few years, stripping away more of its remnants in me.
I just can't in good conscience continue on my merry way through the LaLaLand of American consumerism. I really want to be more purposeful and self-denying. Not because I'm afraid the planet can't sustain it, but because I just don't think it's pleasing to God.
Okay, off my soapbox :)
The real point of this is that my daughter Samantha took her children to a recycling plant for a homeschool field trip (love those homeschool field trips!) I had taken her younger brothers and sisters to one in California when we were homeschooling and it was fascinating for the kids.
I want to suggest that you find your nearest recycling center and arrange one for your homeschoolers, or suggest it to your kids' private or public school teachers. Be sure you go too - you will find it fascinating. The recycling center I visited - Marin Resource Recovery in San Rafael, CA, even had pigs! How practical!
One of the amazing little things Sam and my grandchildren learned was that to prevent unwanted mini-explosions, they actually have to pay workers to sit and twist off the caps on plastic bottles which people have left on. The workers tend to get carpal tunnel syndrome, leading to lost time and higher Worker's Comp costs.
All of this defeats the point, doesn't it?
So if you get nothing else from this post, please start leaving the tops off the bottles when you recycle.
And if you don't recycle, please start today - and take it seriously. Did you know that one aluminum can produces enough energy to run a computer for three hours?
The recycling possibilities for recovered material are incredible! For example, did you know that:* recycled plastic bottles are used to make polar fleece clothes;
* recycled glass is used to manufacture the reflective paint used on highways;
* recycled newspaper is used to make cat litter.~~from Desjardins
Please go here for Recycling Tips.And just because you're already doing some, don't think there's not more you can do. I love when Elisabeth Elliot says that each day we should take one thing we should be doing and start doing it, and take one thing we shouldn't do and stop doing it. That applies to every part of our lives, doesn't it?
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Comments
Good post about stewardship. My mom grew up on a farm and is not remotely a sentimental green tree-hugger type, but when recycling because available in her area, she took to it immediately, meticulously rinsing and sorting. "It would be wasteful to just throw it away," she explained.
Posted by: Peony Moss | March 25, 2010 10:51 AM
