Recycling Remediation

Curbside recycling begins in Shreveport tomorrow! We've all received our blue toters and I've had mine filled for weeks. So the big day is tomorrow - the first pickup. Ours is a pretty simple recycling program -- just dump your recyclables into the blue cart; you don't have to sort anything. But when the carts came, they also came with a flyer of simple instructions as to what you can and cannot put in there. Obviously no garbage, no yard waste, no rocks, bricks, dirt, that sort of thing.

I thought I was all ready to go with my little cart pulled to the curb and then I read Kathryn Usher's blog which reminded me that the toter handle must face the house! I'm all, "Oh crap I did it wrong!" I felt like a dork running outside to turn around my cart. But sure enough, I checked my flyer, and I watched the little video (Recyling 101) and the handle does in fact face your house.

Because we have no life whatsoever, tonight Steve and I did a drive-by-survey of recycling carts in the neighborhood (I know, it's sad, but we are morons). Our informal survey shows that Shreveport-ites have a lot to learn about recycling. We saw blue bins filled with garbage, overflowing with yard waste, sitting with crap piled on top of them, right next to phone poles, behind other trash cans, no where NEAR the requested 3 feet clearance, and WORST of all, according to our most official informal survey, about 95% of the blue carts are facing the wrong way.

We debated whether or not we should buy gold stars and put on those bins that were correctly placed; we considered that maybe the trucks should just leave the offending carts filled with yard waste and garbage until the owners get it right. We are harsh critics. We are so perfect. But in the end, we let it go and decided it will probably take everyone a few weeks to get it right. We have faith in you Shreveport! We can do this!