A Dirty Little Secret

I have a dirty little secret. I love going to the dump! We have the best dump- I get all braggy about it because it is beautiful. Swoon!  It is really well organized and run by the best group of guys and gals. Every Monday, I pile - well Mr. piles the bag of trash and I get all the recycling. As soon as I pull up, the birds are all a flutter as a welcoming dance ensues. I see our friendly Sam waiting to direct all to the perfect trashy receptacle that will be used for the day. All the containers set up next to each other neat and tidy waiting for some action. Begging for our bottles - pick me! Here's a picture. You can zoom in to see all the bins in a perfect row. There is not one bit of trash on the ground or creepy oozy stuff anywhere. I mean I could wear my Manolos if I had some! I think the ground is cleaner than our kitchen floor.  They even have a "Trash to Treasures" section where you can take your gently worn furniture or toys. And it's all for the taking! 

I was really surprised though to find out the other day that there are certain things you should not recycle:

• Pizza boxes. The oil from pizza can contaminate cardboard boxes, making it impossible to process them into clean paper.
• Napkins and paper towels. It's not the paper goods themselves that present a problem, but the fact that they're typically used to wipe up food, cleaning products, and other "hazardous waste."
• Sticky notes. Their size, color, and the adhesive strip make them a better bet for the trash bin.
• Plastic caps. Curbside programs won't recycle them, but Aveda collects them and turns them into packaging for new products.
• Wet paper. Paper fibers that have been exposed to water are shorter and therefore less valuable to paper mills, making it unprofitable to collect and recycle.

The other thing that our lovely dump offers is an array of educational programs geared for elementary up to high school students. Check out this little game they came up with.

And if this is not a surprise - bird watchers go to the dump to admire the lovely gulls that hang out there.