Jeremy and I have been traveling so much that gas station is a big part of our travels. For getting gas, snacks, and drinks. We also clean out the car there. Paper, cans of pop, empty water bottles and such.
One thing I realized is that there is no recycling bins around gas stations. I think that needs to be changed! Places like gas stations and car washes should add recycling bins to help out.
With the gas prices going up and the oil companies making record profits, I am sure they have enough funds to put a few recycling bins around their stations. Especially that they do not put nearly enough funds into Research and Development (RND).
We are going to continue recycling in our RV lifestyle. I really wish that recycling is made easier by having more recycling bins around. I know it might be more overhead, but we are still not doing enough to help reduce waste.
We have been working on reducing our waste by using water filter instead of buying lots of bottled water. It is all about demand and supply.
Starting a recycling program is pretty easy for businesses. Some might claim that the cost of starting a recycling program is too high and cuts into their profit. The truth is in some states, grants are available through the Department of Conservation to help offset the cost. In all cases, companies can get money back for the bottles and cans they collect.
If given the chances, consumers would love to have the opportunity and convenience to recycle. The government and businesses just need to make it easy to do so and make it a matter of fact in our daily routines.
California has a wonderful website from the California Department of Conservation, and you can see how they are handling recycling in the Golden State.
What can we do to help push that? Ask for recycling bins. Next time you are at your local gas station, convenience store, supermarket or even the mall, ask them where the recycling bin is. If they don’t have any, ask them to put one in. If enough customers ask for recycling bins, they will pay attention and do something about it.
Or we can take it to the next step, leave the cans and bottles around the trash bin until they add recycling bins.
A good example is that enough people got tired of Styrofoam packaging McDonalds used, they finally stopped using it and switch to paper.
Let’s make some noise and get this started!
RELATED LINKS
Recycle on the Go is an EPA initiative to encourage recycling in public places such as parks, stadiums, convention centers, airports and other transportation hubs, shopping centers, and at special events.
Coca-Cola/NRC Recycling Bin Grant Program supports local community recycling programs by providing selected grant recipients with containers for the collection of beverage container recyclables in public settings. Selected grant recipients will receive actual recycling bins instead of funding.
The National Recycling Coalition
Coalition of US organizations committed to maximizing recycling to achieve benefits of resource conservation, solid waste reduction, etc. Check out their Programs section for more information on bringing recycling to your community.
Recyclingbin.com is just one of many companies who sell recycling bins to consumers, business, events and pretty much anyone who wants to start a recycling program. Check out their testimonials for all the people starting and loving recycling program.
Earth911 – Business Recycling Program Guideline has information and guidelines about starting a recycling program within an organization.
Rumpke Recycling Commercial and residential recycling services.
