I pit recycling snobs

The BBQ Pit
1

So we have a friend who comes over several times a week. She is cool, we enjoy her company and her husband’s. Our kids and their kids are the same ages and get along so when they come over it is like instant babysitter! YAY!

But she likes to show how she is just a little better than us in subtle ways.

She was playing with our dog and pulled the dogs lips back to check her teeth. “Oh poor baby you have tartar! They don’t take care of your teeth!” mmmm…er…ok. I grew up in the country, the fact that the dog goes to the vet and sleeps in the house, I thought, meant that the dog was pretty well cared for. But ok, whatever. She has health insurance for her dogs. She obviously loves them more. And has more disposable income than I do.

We both have 5 year olds. You know the old “I’m going to count to three” ruse? When you tell your kids to do something and then give them the three count to make the right decision to do what you said? Yeah we use that. Last night she was told her son to do something, which he tearfully resisted. Here comes the three count! “one…two…three…four…” He obeys. She turns to us and says “Child psychologists suggest counting to three doesn’t give the child enough time to make the decision”. Now the 3 vs 5 count is not the issue. What she was insinuating is that if we were as enlightened as her, we would be using the 5 count.

Now the recycling part. We try to recycle. We really do try. We have bins and everything. But there is no recycling pick up where we live. So in the hustle and bustle of life, sometimes it doesn’t happen at home.

So a few weeks ago we were all at my house having a few beers. I was feeling no pain and threw a bottle in the trash. She says, “You guys don’t recycle?” I told he we try, yadda yadda yadda. She said, “well for me it is a respect thing”.

I wasn’t sure what she meant by that…respect for the earth? losing respect for us because we don’t recycle? But I let it go.

Last night we were having beers (again :D) and I threw a bottle in the trash. She said again, “You don’t recycle?” (oh dear lord not again) So she collects up the bottles and puts them in a bag to take with her.

How fucking obnoxious!

She had just finished talking about a cruise she took. I said, “You know if you recycle your whole life you won’t make up for the waste you produced on that one week cruise.” I have no idea if that is true or not, but it felt good to say. The last thing I want is to get in a good-deed tit-for-tat. BUZZKILL!

She lives in a GIANT, old, oil heated house. She travels to Las Vegas from the east coast annually. She drives solo in a mini-van to work and back. NONE of which I care about.

I do my best to live responsibly. Sometimes I do well, sometimes I don’t.

So unless you are carbon neutral, or are as close to it as you can possibly get, don’t lecture me about recycling. I KNOW I SHOULD! I invited you over to drink and have fun, not make us feel like we are inferior.

So how about a little deal? Shut the fuck up about my recycling and I won’t point out your rank hypocrisy. There are myriad things we all do well, and that we can all improve. You are no better than me. Well perhaps you are, but have the good grace not to kill my buzz with your pontifications.

2

You know, my OP’s in the Pit have more venom and laughs. For me, it’s a respect thing.

And I recycle my electrons. This post was made of 100% recycled electrons.

And I count to a million before disciplining my kids. In another couple years, the youngest is getting a time out for violating that no biting rule.

So there!!!

[sub]Yeah, she sounds really annoying[/sub]

3

This is the kind of response she should get Every. Single. Time. Eventually, maybe she’ll figure out how fucking obnoxious she’s being.

You’re already better than her, just for knowing how to use ‘myriad’ correctly in a sentence. Go You! :smiley:

4

Well, the problem is obvious, newcrasher - you and your wife aren’t adults, so you need her to tell you how to live your life. Oh, you are? Then she needs to STFU. I can see where that would get really annoying - you don’t want to get in a fight with someone over something as stupid as brushing your dog’s teeth, but she is stepping all over your boundaries here, and it would drive me batshit.

5

I really would not invite this person over any more. Last thing I need in my life is someone’s passive-aggressive belittling bullshit. I would think it’s the last thing anyone would need, you included. I can understand if you think her good points outweigh her bad, but this would be a deal-breaker for me.

6

no, go even more overboard and drive her insane … dont serve beer, water from a brita filter pitcher … because you dont have to buy plastic bottles … make the meal ethiopian style, a common platter of foods and common dishes of condiments and everybody uses the funky bread to eat wit - so you arent wasting water washing up the individual dishes … go as overboard as you can…anybody else have any over the top suggestions<evil grin>

7

As opposed to what? The much older and equally correct use of myriad as a noun?

8

If you can stand it, turn the heat down for the duration of her next visit and wear sweaters/jackets as needed to keep warm. Because, you want to refrain from using up precious resources unnecessarily.

9

I recently got into an argument with a smug bitch like this.

When you call them on it, they are just going to accuse you of being insecure and guilty about the irresponsible way you live your life. That’s why you are attacking her, not because she is smug and annoying. Nope, that would require her to think about her actions, and people so set on believing they are perfect can’t possibly be expected to do that! So it’s your problem! Stop being so insecure!
God I hate people like that.

So give them the same treatment back. People who are really secure that they are doing the right thing don’t need to shove it down people’s throats. She’s trying to make you insecure, but you know that she feels 10 times more insecure than she is trying to make you feel. It’s how she gets it out.

10

Didn’t we figure out a few months ago that the only common household thing it’s actually cheaper (at this point) to recycle than to make new is aluminum? And has she seen the pictures on Yahoo News of stacks and stacks of recyclables that community centers, instead of selling to recyclers, now have to PAY to have hauled away?

I understand the emotional value of recycling, I really do - but at this point, that’s all it is. Except for your Reynold’s wrap and Coke cans, of course.

11

I feel you on this one. I hate it when people do that. We’re all just doing the best we can. And sometimes, we have to make decisions about what we can and can’t feasibly do.

I’m a total tree-hugger myself, and I often struggle with how far to go with recycling and so forth. Sometimes I make decisions that may not be the “greenest,” but if I insisted on being perfect all the time, I’d go out of my fucking mind!

But since you are willing to recycle to some degree, I’ll offer you one helpful hint on prioritizing your recycling efforts, if you don’t mind. You may know this already, but not everybody does. The most important material to recycle is aluminum. By far. There is a significant difference in the environmental imact of mining new aluminum vs. obtaining aluminum via recycling. (if you want cites, I’m happy to provide them.) And recycled aluminum has a very high market value as it is pretty much identical to newly produced aluminum. So reserve your limited bin space for aluminum cans, and you can recycle half-assedly and still be righteous.

Oh, and the three-count vs. the five-count thing is the most idiotic thing I’ve heard lately. You can count to three as fast or slow as you want!

Put a sign above the toilet that says “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.”

If it’s winter, set the thermostat to 58 degrees, and if they complain, hand out sweaters, gloves, and hats.

12

Hey my search-fu is weak. Can you find that thread? THANKS!

And she is a complete paper tiger. She has her husband so whipped it is ridiculous. If and when I push back she will fold like a cheap card table. I will keep you posted.

13

I challenge this conclusion. Last I saw is that even in a depress recycled goods value time periods it is cheaper in many areas (NYC & NJ in particular) to recycle that to dispose of in dumps. So it varies by area. Garbage tipping fees in this area are actually very high compared to national averages so I understand this might not be true for large parts of the country.

I haven’t seen the exact figures lately and I would love to see the thread you are referring to, to verify the ‘facts’ presented.

Jim

14

You don’t say.
As I’ve found out during yet another bout of insomnia, my city cuts out the middleman, as it were. See those nifty, squeaky clean, colour-coded paper/glass/plastics/other bins laid out neatly on the side of the road ? THEY ALL GO IN THE SAME FUCKING GARBAGE TRUCK.

No different doors, no side compartment, no fancy technological device on any kind. You sort, the city de-sorts, free of bloody charge.

Empirical experiment tells us that this (100% true) story most often causes your average greener-than-you-asshole’s eyes to glaze over for at least 5 minutes. More than enough time to flee the immediate area, tell him about the ecological impact of a single air trip, or kick him in the nadgers, whichever’s more cost-efficient at the time.

15

Hijack!

What I don’t get is why people invite other people into their homes and then get this uncomfortable passive aggressive shit going on.

If I invite you into my home we’re close enough friends I’ll tell you to go fuck yourself if you don’t like something, and you can tell me whatever you want too, and I’ll tell you to go fuck yourself if I don’t agree.

I like to be a good host, but being a good host doesn’t mean taking any snotty, catty passive aggressive game playing shit.

To the OP: bottles are ridiculously easy to recycle. I don’t think there’s anything easier to recycle than bottles. You’re a lazy slob. I kinda don’t blame the woman.

If I wanted to be a lazy slob like you and a friend kept nagging me about recycling I’d probably just start handing things to her to recycle for me because I’m such a lazy slob and not actually trying to recycle.

16

What she said.

17

Next time, as she’s leaving, hand her a full, smelly, mixed-item garbage bag and ask her to take it home and sort it properly for you, since you’re not sure you’d get it right.

18

Save all your bottles and give them to her when she comes over. If she refuses to take them, accuse her of not being environmentally friendly.

19

I know this is the pit, but your outrage is misplaced. How are bottles easy to recycle? They are heavy, they stink, they’re dangerous when broken and they cost more to recycle than to make out of new materials.

Am I being wooshed or are you an idiot?

Now *cans *I can see being outraged about. :smiley:

20

No, an idiot would be someone who thinks bottles are heavier when empty than they were when they were brought home from the store full, and an idiot would make some random point about recycling not being cost effective when I never made any counter point other than the OP is motivated to lug those stinky dangerous bottles home from the store and sit around drinking them but can’t be arsed to put the empties in a separate container due to the hustle and bustle of life, after claiming to try to recycle. That’s like saying “gosh, I try to hit the toilet, but modern life is so busy, sometimes I just can’t!” :smiley:

I’ve read Cecil’s column on recycling, and I don’t recycle when it’s more trouble than I consider it worth.