Recycle. Compost. Landfill. Oh, My!

So have you seen these new trash... err... excuse me, Landfill cans? Well, I guess they're not really new. If you live in the San Francisco area, you've probably seen them for years now. But I'm guessing in most parts of the world or in at least most parts of America, these have not been seen. So you walk up to the, shall we call it, waste sorting station, to get rid of your trash, or waste. And you are faced with not one, not two, but sometimes 3 choices. Great, more decisions. As if the number of choices at the Supermarket is not already overwhelming enough.

So, at Starbucks this morning, there was a can that said "Recycle" on one side and "Landfill" on the other. Oh, crap. I don't want to have to send things to the landfill. I mean, I know I do and have for most of my life, but when standing there faced with the decision of whether or not to give this piece of material a new chance at life in a new shape or form or to stand on the edge of the cut Earth and heave my Starbucks Artisan Sandwich bag in, I was a bit stressed. I really wanted to throw it into the recycle side just to believe I was not destroying the Earth. Luckily, they provide a list of what can go into each side. What's interesting is that almost no container that Starbucks sells can actually go into the recycle side of the can. Well, at least they've probably helped the problem with the amount of waste that occurs at recycling centers due to people throwing the wrong stuff into the recycle bin, but it really appears that Starbucks needs the 3 choice model.

Yes, the Recycle, Compost, or Landfill model. I've seen this one at a Central Valley California Costco and at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. So, you walk up to this can and are faced with 3 choices. You stand there for a while and read and look at the pictures and hope that you will be able to throw your waste into either the compost (turns out we can compost a whole lot more than we think we can) or the recycle hole. Please, don't let it be the landfill hole. Somebody might see me. There truly is a feeling of judgment while standing there. It's a very effective guilt strategy. I mean, whoever invented this thing had to be Catholic.

California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco

Starbucks

Positive Energy Kids Triathlon

My kids (8 year old girl and 10 year old boy) participated in their first triathlon yesterday. Neither their father or myself has ever done anything like this so we were SO proud of them. It was called the Positive Energy Kids Triathlon (PEKT) and took place in Davis, CA. It was truly amazing. If you ever get the chance to participate with your family, do it. It was SO organized. The kids had bibs with their numbers in huge font across their chests. They had their numbers written on their arms and legs. They had their numbers on stickers on their helmets and bikes. Both kids felt so professional! Their was a short swim across a 25-yard pool (since my kids are swimmers, they wished that part was much longer). The swim was between 25-75 yards for them (longer for older groups). Then a bike ride for 1-4 miles depending on the age (again, 1-2 for my kids), followed by the run (both my kids did 1/2 mile). I know it's not huge distances, but it was a challenge for them and they were exhausted at the end but SO proud of their accomplishment. They both woke up this morning and wanted to wear their triathlon t-shirts and medals to school today... and did! All in all, it was a fantastic, completely positive energy, fun family event. Do it if you ever get the chance. Maybe next year, we'll even participate with them... maybe. :)