Out here...

Chairs from recycled plastic

...in East Gish or Levant we have just started single stream recycling, that's a fancy term for putting all your eggs in one basket.  The eggs in this case are all of your recyclables, plastic, paper, cardboard, cans - that's what the eggs are.  Before this we had to separate it all, and the only plastic you could recycle was #2!  Now all plastic (1-9) can go to recycling heaven.

  So what becomes of all this "trash" you ask; well those pretty chairs up there (for sale at Lowes) used to be milk bottles or other number two plastic.  They also build "lumber" for decks, or other outside uses.  Glass (mostly bottles) became floor tiles, counter tops, jewelry and about 100 more uses.  Porcelain (your old toilet) goes into the roads you drive on.  Metal is reused in many, many ways - you saw some right here yesterday.

  So the people of East Gish (Levant) are happy, well...at least those of us that bother to recycle, there should be more, are happy.  But if the recycling rate doesn't increase then, then, then the Town will go to the dreaded "pay per bag".  People really fight that.  Pay per bag is simple to explain; you go to the Town Office or a store and buy trash bags for fifty cents, or a dollar, and what you don't recycle goes in the the paid in advance for trash bags - then the rate of recycle rate will increase, hopefully.  But the consequences could very well be trash dumped in the woods, or roadside; some people would take their trash to town and put it in other peoples dumpsters - yes, yes it's been known to happen - or dispose of trash in some other way.

  So, there you have it, Maine Recycles (or does it),  the Geezer and his wife have recycled for a long time, about 15 years.  We save up our stuff and drive to the recycle center in Bangor, unload it at each bin and done, now we just put it in a special trash can on wheels and haul it to the roadside once a month.

Counter top made of recycled glass.

Plastic "lumber"

How different bottles make up colors for tiles.