Just moved my office. It seems that whenever you move you generate an inordinate amount of garbage. You know all that “valuable” stuff that accumulates over time that now you don’t consider to be that valuable. So in the name of reducing clutter you just chunk it. Problem is that here in Costa Rica “chunking it” is like placing a treasure trove on the curbside. Invariably someone will find something of extreme value to them in your garbage. Thing is that in the process of searching the rest of it gets strewn from here to Sunday. My initial reaction is usually one of annoyance. You know like, “leave my freakin garbage alone.” As if my “garbage” was more valuable to me than to them. If it is then why is it out there on the curb, huh? If you think about the whole process of generating and discarding your garbage it is a “vicious cycle.” I mean we accumulate, we discard, and what we discard gets re-accumulated……somewhere. Think about the magnitude of this process taking place on almost every square meter of the planet. Where does all this stuff go? It is scary if you think about it, because it has to go somewhere. I guess the folks out there digging through my garbage are one means of breaking this cycle, or at least delaying it. I guess it is a form of recycling and they (that is, those treasure seekers out there) should be commended for their efforts. If they would only leave the rest of it neat and orderly I might tend to agree more with myself. It must take an enormous amount of energy to deal with all the garbage accumulated throughout the world. Isn’t there a better way? What if we accumulated less in the first place? What if instead of just “chunking it” on the curb, we gave some thought to the discarding of our refuse and tried a more organized form of donation? What if we really got in to this whole recycling thing and made sure that items that are recyclable actually got recycled? What if everyone really did this? What would the world look like if we really got more organized about our garbage? I guess what it takes is for you and me to be more like those treasure hunters out there on my curb. They see the beauty in my garbage. That is something hard for me to grasp, but maybe with some effort I could. And the effort I expend could contribute to saving my planet while also contributing to the elimination of the loss of hope that would drive someone to rummage through garbage in the first place. Wow, I may be on to something here! Costa Rica, the country I love so much, and the most beautiful place on earth, cannot be allowed to disappear in a heap of refuse. And that is exactly where we are headed (as is the whole world) if we don’t adopt a better attitude about this issue of garbage. Happy recycling!
P.S. I am not preaching here…..just thinking out loud.
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