My dear little mother was an environmentalist long before that even became a word. She would walk the side ditches wearing gloves and carrying a bag picking up trash that people threw out of the windows of their cars. When actual recycling became a thing, she was diligent in recycling aluminum cans, paper, plastic and glass. She even went so far as to wash and peel labels from every jar and can that she placed into the containers. Mom respected the land God had entrusted her with. Her habits have rubbed off on me. Yes, I pick up other people’s trash and I recycle including washing cans and jars and peeling labels. It is one small act that I can do to help show I care. My next step is to reduce the amount of plastic that I bring into our home which is eventually thrown into a big plastic trash bag and buried in the local landfill becoming mountains that will some day have housing built on top of it. Can you imagine that can of worms or rather toxic waste? Personally I prefer the worms.
Every human being should be required to spend a hot sultry day at their local landfill or as back in the day and more suitably called “the dump.” The first time I went, I came home appalled. Mountains of trash with buzzards flying overhead signifying something dead going on down there. I will never forget the smell. We humans are killing our habitat one bag of trash at a time. Each one of us needs to take personal responsibility for the trash we create and reduce it as much as possible. We were gifted with this earth by our Heavenly Father and we were appointed to be good stewards of His gift. Let’s start taking it seriously.
Jane Crick Painting in Paradise 