Today is America Recycles Day and I am thankful for all the people who care enough about the future of our planet to recycle – but who also by their actions, inspire others to do what they can for the environment.
Helping preserve our planet is not something that any one person can do. It is one of those things where millions of tiny, daily actions add up. And, the tiny daily actions do more than just take really nasty stuff out of our landfills, they change the attitude of whole neighborhoods, cities, states and even countries toward protecting the environment. According to many, the big war against global warming is going to take place on a national scale with huge economic incentives for developing new energy sources. I believe that even that shift wouldn’t have happened without the millions of people who think and care about the environment and who lug that little blue bin to the curb every week.
About a decade ago (can it be that long?) – I used to work as the public information officer for the Fairfax County Recycling Program. I have to (somewhat sheepishly) admit that I wasn’t the best recycler or even an ardent environmentalist when I took the job. But, the enthusiasm and passion of the people I worked with rubbed off on me. The group was so creative in finding ways to spread the word and make things easy on people. This was a decade ago when the economy was better and pre-hurricane Katrina when the incentives for recycling weren’t as obvious.
And, the group wasn’t just made up of starry eyed granola crunching environmentalists. The recycling coordinator (one of the smartest women I have ever had the pleasure to work with) managed to marry hard science with great public relations. The other team members were all very hard working and cared about getting our message out.
I really enjoyed being part of that team and feeling like I was really a part of making things better. So, on this America Recycles Day, I’m thinking of and thanking my former colleagues at the Fairfax County Recycling Program, I’m really glad I got to work with you.
