Our trip to the Baylor Hudson Recycling Center

Curiously Green is an exclusive weekly Earth 911 series showcasing the adventures of a couple going green. This week Sheila and Gary, a couple from Phoenix, Arizona share their experience at a recycling center.

Meet Sheila: “I’m going green!”

She Says: Hi, I’m Sheila. I’m 27. I work at Earth 911 and I’m a pinhole photographer. When I was 9 years old I wrote to George Bush Sr. and voiced my concerns about the environment. He wrote me back, but I don’t recall him answering my questions. I’m still concerned about saving the environment. I try to recycle but am aware that I don’t do enough and still accidentally throw away paper that could be recycled. I also buy water bottles, not the little ones, the 1 gallon bottles… but I buy about 10 or more a week. When I remember I refill them, and I recycle the bottles, but that’s not enough. I live in a condominium that does not recycle but when I talk to my neighbors they all agree it’s important and they do drop off their recyclables. I live in Arizona, a state that’s sunny almost every day of the year and it baffles me that we aren’t 100% solar powered.

I have made a goal to start recycling everything and to go as ‘green’ as possible. I’ll be researching eco-friendly ways of doing things and sharing my experiences here with you. If you want to join me and share what you’re doing, that would be fantastic! We can do this together!

First I’m going to organize where I recycle on the balcony. Right now, I just throw my washed recyclables out there and it looks disastrous. It’s like a trash tornado hit my balcony. The next thing I’m going to do is start a recycling program within my apartment complex. Soon I’ll be a super green hippie, growing my own food, biking everywhere, wearing hemp clothes… mmmmmm… maybe not, but I will be doing my part and that will feel marvelous! Oh, and my boyfriend and dog will be joining in on the fun.

Meet Gary: “I used to recycle in the 70′s”

He Says: My name is Gary, I grew up in Fountain Hills, Arizona in the late seventies, when there was only three kinds of recycling: newspapers, aluminum cans and bottles. Recycling was an easy way to make some extra money. Two cents a pound for newspaper and seven cents a pound for aluminum cans could add up to quite a sum. Not to mention the deposit that was payed back when you turned in specially marked glass bottles that were worth five and ten cents. We were always on the lookout for glass soda bottles. I was a pioneer in recycling, but was motivated solely for profit.