Trash redefined: the SMART way to dispose of our waste

Remember the old days when people used to toss their trash out the windows of their cars? Remember the Keep America Beautiful campaign in the 1970s featuring a crying American Indian as he pulled his canoe up on a litter-strewn beach? () The voiceover intones “People start pollution. People can stop it.”When I was a kid, I would accompany my father on dump runs. The dump was just a big pile of garbage. I remember the stink, the dirt, the decay. There were even a couple of junkyard dogs scavenging for dinner. There was no sorting, no recycling, no composting.It’s been a long time since the Northwest Corner and the Tri-state area have seen much littering or obvious pollution. Concerned citizens and environmental protection groups have banded together periodically to fight threats to our environment. Remember the Stop The Plant campaign to prohibit St. Lawrence Cement from building a state-of-the-art facility in Hudson, N.Y.? Both the Housatonic and Hudson Rivers are cleaner and healthier waterways than they were even 20 years ago, thanks in large part to Riverkeeper and local citizen groups. So, we have a good record when it comes to fighting big business to protect our corner of paradise, but what about when we’re faced with local initiatives that demand a lower level of outrage but a more constant level of vigilance?Recently, the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station Recycling and Advisory Committee reopened the discussion of adopting a “Pay as You Throw” fee system. This latest reform is called SMART (Save Money and Recycle More Trash). And it is. Waste and its disposal is a decidedly first-world problem. Our consumer society gobbles up everything in sight, but then spits it out with apparently little concern for the result. The relentless desire for bigger, brighter, better, newer which quickly becomes used, broken and unwanted, demands that even if we can’t slow the rate of our consumerism, at the least, we deal conscientiously with our trash. u u uSMART does this in the most economical and fair-minded manner. We are each responsible for what we use and generate, so waste management must start in the home. Most of what we discard can be recycled. Let’s look at what is NOT garbage or trash: Returnables and recyclables (plastic, metal cans, and glass); cardboard; paper, magazines, newspapers, envelopes, etc.; construction debris; unwanted electronics, computers and TVs; light bulbs and batteries. In addition, at the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station, there are two large containers for unwanted clothes and shoes and of course, the Swap Shop, beloved of scavengers, kids and thrifty-minded Yankees alike. After reuse, recycling and composting, it’s hard to imagine what’s left to go in the trash bags.It is highly unlikely that after sorting their garbage a family of five will still be producing five bags of garbage every week — but if they are, they should be responsible for it. If a single resident generates only one bag of trash every two weeks — he should be rewarded for his low consumption. The SMART program doesn’t require anything more than a reasonable level of conscientiousness. And it actually starts in the store. When shopping, choose products that have a minimal amount of packaging. Buy in bulk. Skip the plastic bag in the vegetable aisle if you’re only getting a couple of items. Reuse shopping bags or bring a tote bag.It’s natural to resist because change is hard. But every household has the obligation to deal responsibly with the waste they produce. It’s a simple learning curve, based on sorting. I predict, if you’re not recycling now, you’ll be amazed to find that you like doing it. In addition, once you start, you’ll discover it’s an accurate and interesting way to track your shopping habits. Nothing like seeing a trash bin of plastic water bottles to make you reconsider drinking tap, or a box of monthly bills to consider signing up for online banking. In addition, there’s a sense of camaraderie and goodwill that comes with a visit to the transfer station. I’m not kidding! In the end it doesn’t really matter what the motivation to reduce is: whether it’s to contribute to the greening of our planet or to reduce the burden on an individual’s pocketbook, it brings about the right result. Recycling is its own reward.Tara Kelly, a Lakeville Journal Company copy editor, is an avid follower of social trends. Reach her at tarakny@earthlink.net.