Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Plastic Tubs of Margarine


“Mom, we recycle, right?” Eric (7) asked.

“Sure.” I said. “We recycle newspapers, cans, plastic and glass."

Eric smiled. A few weeks ago, his class celebrated Earth Day. They talked about the three “R’s” – recycle, renew, reuse. Amongst the seven year old set, going green is all the rage.

When I was a kid, there was no Earth Day. And re-cycling was when you rode your bicycle again and again. No one had an environmental conscious or worried about their carbon footprint.

It wasn’t because we didn’t care about Mother Earth. It was because we were too poor to recycle. Interesting enough, our deficiency of wealth probably made us better stewards of the environment than most environmentalists of today.

Take plastic margarine containers. Once they were empty, we didn’t throw them out. We washed them to use again.

Mom had a hundred uses for margarine containers. They could keep food fresh in the refrigerator – no need to spend $19.99 on Tupperware. They could be used to sort nuts and bolts – who needs a fancy workbench. They made great art projects – this week it’s a drum, next week it’s a boat.

Nana's motto was reuse. One teabag made at least two cups of tea. And she could easily stretch a single bottle of shampoo to two by diluting with water. Torn clothes were never discarded. They were repaired and worn again. And again. And again.

On the food front, Nana was even more resourceful. Dandelion greens were transformed into salads. Wild fruits were cultivated. Leftovers were never left. And when it came to meat, Nana ate every part of the pig except the oink. Don't even ask what she did with leftover bacon grease from the bottom of the skillet. I can feel my arteries hardening just thinking about it.

When I was a kid, we used shoe leather express more and our cars less. And we rarely bought new things. We couldn't afford them. Being poor forced us to consider our circumstances. Do I need something new? Or can I make do with what I have. Most of the time, the answer was "make do."

As "environmental conscious" becomes more of a mantra, I wonder if we aren't focusing on the wrong theme. Instead of talking about recycle, renew, reuse, I wonder if we would be better off talking about "making do."

As Eric tossed the used margarine container into the recycle bin, he smiled. He felt proud to do his part to save the earth. But I felt a bit guilty and wondered whether I shouldn’t save the plastic container – just in case I need to store some buttons.

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