I really doubt he knows this, but one thing that I noticed when we first started dating was Richard had (and used) his recycling bin.....totally scored him some points in my book.
Fast forward a bit and Charleston county had gone to single stream recycling....recycling came every other week....and our giant rolling bin was regularly overflowing (in fact, on more than one occasion (and with their permission) we would put some of our recycling into our next door neighbors bin). Our trashcan, most weeks had 2 small bags....barely worth pulling to the curb.....
As a teacher, much to many a students' disdain, if I saw them drop their soda can in the trash can that was touching the recycle bin, I would make them pull it out of the trash and put it in the recycle bin....I can still hear them now....'Midds, that is so disgusting, you want me to reach in the trash'....to which I reply its been in there 5 seconds get it out....
When we live in DC, I think we took recycling down to the recycling bins way more often than we made a leisurely walk to trash chute......
So, when we arrived in Tbilisi.....I had heard a rumor there was a place to take your recycling way out on the other side of town. Most people didn't bother since it was such a trek. But I figured if I only go every month or two it won't be that big of a trek (and I'd be driving the Prius so it wouldn't be that much fuel either). So I couldn't un-train myself and had kept the recyclables out in the garage (ok, I admit, I did toss the empty peanut butter jar b/c those are such a pain to rinse out and only felt a tad guilty). You can imagine what elation I had at an embassy coffee last month when I found a gentleman had started up a recycling program in Tbilisi!
With this program still in the start up phase, they have not gotten city permission to place bins on public property yet. They can however place them on private property and will pick up on a regular basis unless they get a call the bins are full and will come pick up earlier. Another person at the coffee is on the PSG board at the school the kids go to.....she made it happen! There is a recycling drop off point at their school.....so today when dumping our recycling in the bins, my heart went pitter patter.....because that's what this tree hugger gets excited about!
Now currently they only take paper/cardboard, plastic and glass bottles (no metal yet).....so I am still stock piling my metal and consciously make the decision to only buy beer in bottles, not cans!
P.S. Yesterday our housekeeper threw a couple glass bottles next to the sink away and I pulled them out of the trash and told her about the recycling program.....I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm nuts now.....
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