Recycling in the Burné

Not surprisingly, people are open to the idea of recycling and actually put it into practice if you make it easy enough. Case in point: the Glen Burnie Carnival. In its century-long history, 2009 marked the first year that recycling containers were dispersed alongside regular trash containers at the carnival. I didn’t make it doown there this year, but it’s nice to know that there is another event I won’t have to carry recyclables back home to dispose of properly.

One comment in the article linked above that was both surprising and gratifying is the mention that people were actually using the clearly marked recycling bins for recycling materials. As I’ve mentioned before, people don’t always get the recycling concept. But denizens of The Burné apparently do understand what is and what is not recyclable!

Although the carnival is a good step towards increasing awareness about recycling, still more can be done. In Anne Arundel County, recyclables are not picked up at condominiums and other shared living environments. Ricky and I have both brought this up to our home owners association to no avail. The monthly HOA fee would have to increase to accomodate pick up for recyclables and fee increases are not a very favorable subject. Until then, we make due with weekly or bi-weekly trips to the nearby recycling center. Ricky has even gone one step further to contact our county executive, John Leopold, also to no avail.

So clearly more work needs to be done to make recycling more common place here in The Burné. Its success at the carnival shows that people are open to it when they don’t have to go out of their way to do it. One could argue that a little effort should take place and let people take more responsibility for themselves. I agree, effort is not a bad thing and more people should take action. Realistically though, convenience is king and a more established recycling program is the only way to get the majority of the population involved.