Musings: When a bin bars the willing heart
A sign for the Town of Hempstead Sanitation Department. Credit: Newsday / Alejandra Villa Loarca
I have always tried to be a responsible resident and take advantage of the town recycling program.
But, now, I will have to withdraw from part of the program. A couple of Wednesdays ago — and as always — I put out my glass and plastic items in a see-through plastic bag. I have been doing this since the dark days of COVID-19.
On this particular Wednesday, though, the recycling truck did not pick up my bags.
So I called my town’s sanitation department and was told they can no longer take wrapped items. They must be loose in blue bins, with the emphasis on “loose.”
My husband has a disability and uses a wheelchair. As a result, he cannot take out the blue bin to the curb, and I, too, am elderly and cannot pick up a bin, blue or any color, especially when it’s full, and mine usually is.
Therefore, I will keep putting out my paper and cardboard items but, unfortunately, will not be recycling glass and plastic anymore, and this I regret.
— Myra Sherr, Hewlett
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