A reason to clean the garage

Back at the end of March I reported on my city's new recycling program. Since then the program has been approved and they are starting to roll it out.

I woke up this morning to noise progressing down the street. I wasn't sure what it was but knew it wasn't trash day. When I got up and looked out the window my new blue recycling bin was at the end of the driveway. This thing is big -- about 2.5 foot square at the top and as high as my belt. It can hold 96 gallons.

That meant my afternoon project was to clean the garage. I needed someplace to put this monster. It needed cleaning anyway and the weather was sunny and got up to 78F.

I've got a lot to put into the bin. I had been collecting recyclables since last fall (who wants to visit the recycle dumpsters in winter?) and didn't go this spring since I knew I would get paid for what I put into the bin. I've pretty much filled the bin and will fill it twice more before my backlog is gone.

I didn't have the particulars of the program quite right when I described it in March. They take all kinds of paper (including phone books), cardboard, all kinds of recyclable plastic, clear glass, metal cans, and even old metal cookware. The bin doesn't have a bar code, but does have a long string of inch-high digits. The number is recorded to say I participated and at the end of the route the truck is weighed. I get credited for one share of the reward. The first pickup will probably be in early July.