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Perspective: Challenge yourself to recycle right

Nareeta Martin
/
Unsplash

My church got fined for putting the wrong stuff in the recycle bin. Now they wonder if it’s worth the price to recycle.

It comes with a cost. And it’s the right thing to do. It’s called stewardship.

Genesis tells us that God made the heavens and the Earth and on that sixth day, gave Earth to man and woman to care for. Until we follow the lead of other countries and stop consuming single-use plastics, recycling is the responsible thing to do.

Do we put the right things into those bins? Or do we let the recyclers sort out what doesn’t belong? Do we add contaminants like pizza boxes and plastic bags?

Is it too easy? All our recyclables go into the same bin. Once at the warehouse they undergo an extensive separation process to sort cardboard from paper and glass from plastic and aluminum from steel.

But plastic bags clog up the machines, shut down the process, and must be disentangled by hand. That costs them time and money. We should be fined for that. Shame on us for our carelessness.

Make the effort. Go online. Find out what does and does not go in those bins. Be a steward and care for this planet we’ve been given. It’s the right thing to do.

I’m Corinne Sosso and that’s my perspective.

Corinne Sosso, the Education Director at Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful, Rockford, Illinois, acts as the public liaison and cheerleader for recycling and litter prevention.