Tag Archives: landfills

The Road to Diamond, Day 129: Cleansing

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

April 6, 2025, Kingman- On a table, in the backyard work area of our Quad, there is a sturdy aluminum pot, left behind by a now incarcerated former neighbour. The pot is caked in some sort of goop, and once it is cleaned, later this week, it will be given over to the Disabled American Veterans, along with any other items that may still be on the front wall of the property just to our south.

I believe in making left-behind items available to families in need, instead of stocking the landfill at Sun Dog. So, a man’s bicycle, a large pasta strainer, two or three chairs, a few lamps and the aforementioned pot could be still there, waiting for me to take to the Thrift Store on Tuesday morning.

This morning, at breakfast with some fellow veterans, I found myself in a self-deprecating mood when one of the guys teased me about what he thought was my lack of a love life. Thinking back on my teenage years, it was not hard, this morning, to joke about being seen as less than desirable by some of the A-list girls. It felt like a sort of cleansing, as it’s been a long time since such a judgmental pecking order has mattered to me. It feels nice to be in a self-assured frame of mind-and I have my marriage of 29 years, and the Baha’i Teachings, to thank for that confidence.

There is another sort of cleansing afoot, as the Federal Government whittles away at part of many people’s savings, including my own. I will continue to live as I see fit-mostly in a frugal manner, but also doing things like hosting a couple of friends from the Philippines, this week, and visiting family and friends back East, in May. The wealthy officials who are telling us to tighten our belts, are themselves doing whatever they feel like. I will thus do what I feel is right, including some of what I want to do.

So, here I am in this crossroads city, and tomorrow, will head to Las Vegas, pick up my two friends and introduce them to Arizona, over the next six days. All of this feels very cleansing.

The Pizza Box

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Posted by on in Community, Personal Values, Striving

September 15, 2019-

Several years ago, I had a discussion with some immigrants from the Middle East, about what could and couldn’t be recycled.  The focal point was a pizza box, contaminated with cheese and oil.  I pointed out that the box could not be recycled, as it had food stuck to it and was saturated with oil, besides.  “No matter!”, the loudest opposing voice said, “Back in our home city, EVERYTHING was recycled.  The landfill had workers who separated it all out!”

There is a trend now, of cities scaling back their recycling programs, citing “cost” as the reason.  Of course, if one has to have a crew separating cardboard with food stuck on it, washing or rinsing cans, bottles and jars and throwing yard refuse, used clothing and dirty napkins back into the general pile, the costs add up.  Then, there is the China Card:  “Well, China no longer accepts recycling from other countries.”  Where is it written that China, India, the nations of sub-Saharan Africa, or any other country has to be America’s trash dump?

We can train ourselves to be more judicious and take the time necessary to rinse out recyclable bottles, cans and jars-both glass and plastic.  We can use products like soap nuts, available in quite a few places, for laundry and household cleaning.  (https://heddaskincare.com)  We can take the time to separate contaminated paper and cardboard from that which is actually recyclable.

The alternative, of course, is to pile the landfills up to the sky, as so many communities in developing nations must do. There is also the option of a price increase-wherein a customer pays an extra $1-3 per month, for “enhanced” recycling services.   Sooner, rather than later, the reckoning will be upon us, as any resident of a crowded city in a developing nation could testify.