Recycelage and the recycle age

I've discovered a new phenomenon this year - I've always been one for taking up the gauntlet of recycling household waste, checking every little thing over for the recycle logo before consigning it to the appropriate bin, or repairing or adapting old household items that still have life left in them. When we moved to South Australia I was very happy to find that most bottles, drink cans and containers have a compulsory 'deposit' which can be redeemed at certain places in the state - a wonderful by product of this is that it helps to reduce littering as those less fortunate can pick up from public bins and roadsides and make themselves a few dollars which reduces litter and landfill. Even my home-brew bottles have been around for a few years, after I was given them by a friend who runs an RSL some time ago - I've lost count of the number of times I've rewashed and refilled them - my only concession to the modern age is that they are all screw top bottles so when I press on the crown caps 'hey presto' I have bottle tops that don't need a bottle opener. Of course the crown caps are metal and can be recycled too.......

This year I have noticed an unusual phenomenon and embraced it to the full. Being a roadside recycler of long standing (when we lived in the UK I couldn't pass a skip without looking to see what was inside that might be useful to me) I still have trouble meeting the speed limit in an area where there is a hard rubbish collection scheduled, and have been tooted up by many an angry motorist as I drive slowly past someone else’s rubbish pile looking for that little piece of Eldorado. Amongst some of my best wins have included a 'butlers sink' which the local wildlife and our bees love to bathe in, and drink from, and some heavy metal posts ideal for creating retaining walls, other items too numerous to mention have graced our house or garden over the years.

This year I booked our own council hard rubbish collection as I was having a good clear out of items that had been cluttering the garage for several years that we no longer had any use for - for example, when we moved in to this house there was a fake fireplace which we replaced with a real fire - ideal for keeping us warm on cold winter nights and more functional than for just looking at.

Our instructions were clear.

Put the rubbish you want collected out in the morning from 5.00am on the day that it has been scheduled to be collected (5.00am???) and not before otherwise you may be ticketed for tipping offences(!). When I booked the pick-up, I was very specific with the items we would need collecting, as I had recently demolished and built a new home for our chickens. Items would include, perma-pine posts, planks, corrugated iron roofing, fencing and chicken wire, and other more 'household' goods. When the paperwork arrived stating what items were permissible it was a fairly exhaustive list stating that pretty much everything I needed to get rid of couldn't be collected. Luckily, either the guys that carried out the collection either hadn't been informed what was actually on the list, or had enough sense to turn a blind eye, and took everything that was left for collection.

Now, you notice I say - everything that was left for collection. I deliberately flaunted (I live on the EDGE man!) the rules and put the hard rubbish items out a few days early to see what would be taken by others similarly minded to myself, i.e. those dumpster divers, Australian Pickers, or whatever you want to call us.

I was amazed.

A large pile of items had been whittled away to a small pile, and items that had been taken included an old and extremely heavy punch bag (that I saw being dragged into a very small car by a very small lady), some really worn out matchstick blinds, a number of small rolls of carpet, and the said fake fireplace.

I had put this item out first, whilst clearing the garage, and had clearly left it out for someone to take and put to good use. I had been out tidying the garage for over an hour with no apparent interest, but when I went inside to get a glass of water (warm work), and came out again maybe five minutes later, it had gone!

Fantastic!

I'm really happy to see this happening, and items we have no use for starting a new life with someone else, it saves on landfill and makes everyone happy - I was just a little puzzled that items only actually disappeared when no one was apparently watching. It was almost as if this was part of the thrill, and to be caught taking something would be taboo or otherwise unacceptable.

This week we had a clear out of our guest bedroom, and put some old and very used bedside cabinets out for 'free collection'. I put them outside on the pavement, and we had a visitor whose car was obscuring the cabinets from general passers by. Even so, they were gone within two hours. It was odd then to think that cheap items we'd bought from MFI, or Argos, and home assembled, that had made their way from England with us, and been in our care for something approaching twenty five years, were now going on to a new life in a new home with new owners. Maybe a garage, maybe a young person starting up home, who knows. I hope they get as much use as we did from them.

Long live the roadside recycling revolution!!!