Horrified - Rethink your life.....

We had a small presentation by the Region's Recycling Expert today. I was horrified by what I heard. Ok, so here's my brrief story. Don and I were trying to purchase a home, and I promised God (ok remember I'm not religious) that if we got it, I would recycle more responsibly. Well, guess what, we got it. So I started being a psycho recycler.....(I had recycled when living where there was a blue box program, but in this area recycling took more energy and time......long story.) So I put everything in to recycliing. I don't use plastic bags for lunches - I always pack in tupperware, I minimize my use of saran wrap (apparently one of the WORST things in a landfill), I use tupperware or something similar, I rewash my ziplocs, we make our own beer in plastic bottles we've used for 4 years that we bought at a garage sale, I return all returnables, we compost, my couches are from the garbage dump, (seriously nice black leather couches that could have been sold as new, go figure) so I do my share. Now I find out that I'm putting things in the blue box that aren't recyclable - like plastic packaging, lids of milk jugs, lids of stuff - so I'm making work for them. The amount of garbage going into the landfill in this area has increased by 50% and our population has only gone up 13%. I was SHOCKED. GONE UP??!! What the.......????? I thought as a society we were more concious. Then I think of the packaging in food, toys and at Canadian Tire around everything. I think of the disposable furniture at Ikea, the disposable kitchens at discount renovation stores, the DOLLAR STORES FULL OF MADE IN CHINA UNRECYCLABLE CRAP, the plastic crap toys everywhere. Fashion. Renovations. OH MY GOD. SICK SICK SICK. What are we doing to our planet? Then, to top it off she gave the kids a "present" a smencil, a smelly pencil (ok fragrant) made completely from recycled newspapers......in a NON RECYCLABLE plastic package. The irony. Anyone read Omnivore's Dilema? A whole 'nother rant coming soon........