It’s so easy at home—every two weeks, at an ungodly hour on
Thursday morning, an El Dorado Disposal truck picks up my yellow-lidded
recycling can. The fee seems high for my single household, but I am allowed to recycle
glass, plastic, newspaper, magazines, junk mail, and aluminum. On alternate
weeks, I can put out a yard-waste can filled with grass clippings, small
branches, and other yard waste. The only real trash goes into a nearly empty small
cart for weekly pickup.
On the road, it’s a different story. We do keep a shopping bag
in the shower for aluminum cans, but there isn’t space for plastic and glass,
to say nothing of newspaper. (I do try to read newspapers at libraries or online
when possible.) Sadly, I must throw away (but there really is no “away”) far
too many items that might be recycled.
The NPS does have containers for recyclables in their campgrounds,
and kudos to them. Occasional state or county parks provide for recycling, also.
Private campgrounds, though, usually do not. Far too many bottles, cans, and
other containers end up in landfills.
Availability is only part of the problem. I’ve seen bins
clearly labeled as “bottles and cans” used for garbage. Why do people do this?
Are they hostile to anything hinting at environmentalism? I don’t think they are
illiterate, as simple pictures are on most containers.
Perhaps those of us who care about the environment should
complain more. If KOA and other offending campgrounds realized that they are
losing some campers by polluting the environment, it might have an effect.
