Myrtle Beach Part II (Scenario: Me. My family. Myrtle Beach vacation. Ungodly amounts of recyclables. No where to take them…no recycling options in sight.)
…So, what did I do?
You guessed ‘er, Chester. I stood in the kitchen of our condo. I crushed cans. I smashed plastic bottles. I tore apart and flattened boxes. I gathered and straightened newspaper. I condensed everything… every last little
thing… into the smallest amount of trash bag space possible and…
We drove it home. ALLLL the way back to Cleveland. Alongside beach chairs and boogie boards. Alongside favorite pillows and stuffed animals. Alongside food that never got consumed… in the car. A 703 mile cruise to “Recycleville”.
And honestly…it felt great!
This is the pile that we brought home. Keep in mind that it is smashed and crushed and flattened to extremes (so you don’t see the true volume), but would you take a look at what WOULD HAVE been sent to a landfill if we hadn’t brought it home? It literally FILLED our recycling can. Our 3 foot tall recycling can.
What bothers me the most is not that we had to drive it home(!) but what in the hell is going on in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that a recycling program is not set-up for all of the hundreds upon hundreds of resorts and hotels? How much money floods into that place every year and how pitiful that they offer no options, whatsoever, and have not taken responsibility for even the most fundamental step in environmental consciousness.
Do you know that 14 MILLION PEOPLE visit Myrtle Beach each year?!?!? If they accepted only cans and bottles, can you imagine the volume? If they only offered vacationers a choice. But there are no choices. It’s one, big pit of overconsumption and waste.
I need to do something. What? I’m not yet sure. Contact the Mayor? Contact the head of their Sanitation and Waste Department? Contact the Resort Manager? I just don’t know. But I assure you I’m going to do something. This isn’t going to be the end of the story. I promise.
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WOW! Good for you! We do the same sort of thing on a smaller capacity - if we are somewhere and can’t recycle, we bring it home to our blue box. Great job Doreen!
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Kudos to you for doing the right thing. What’s sad though, is that “most” of the people who were on vacation the same time you were, won’t do the same thing.
First thing I look for when I go to a park or restaurant or mall anymore is, “are there recycle bins nearby?”
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Robert - thank you too! And you’re absolutely right. I don’t think too many people would lug it all home. “Looking for the bins” is a great habit. Someday, hopefully, we won’t even have to look for them…they’ll just be everywhere!
Good job!!!!! Myrtle Beach should be ashamed of herself.
I’m still blown away by how much work you had to do just to recycle your trash. I have a new appreciation for the conservation efforts in the northwest. Recycling has been a priority since the early eighties.
I thought Cleveland was bad, but I guess other parts of the country are just as bad or worse based on our experience in SC. We don’t have an administration that cares about this type of thing, that’s the problem. Private corporations don’t do it either because it’s expensive. What’s the answer? I guess private citizens, already overtaxed, who have a conscience. Pretty sad that’s where we’re at in the USA.
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This really saddens and frustrates me, but I at least know now that I am not alone in how this makes me feel. I know that all efforts count, no matter how small, so that keeps me going. One way to really feel better about the whole situation is to continue to educate and get the word out that we can all make a difference. I’m going to keep working towards this effort. There’s strength in numbers!!!! Keep it up.
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I love the blog! I took a look online and it looks like Myrtle Beach does have recycling centers…you’d think they’d offer containers at the resorts. It’s such a simple thing to do–it’s a shame that not everyone thinks about it. It’s sad that I’m always impressed to see public places like airports with recycling bins–you’d think everyone would get on board.
But baby steps I guess–I remember when it was common for people to chuck trash out car windows on the highway. Hopefully more people will come around.
http://www.recyclingcenters.org/South_Carolina/Myrtle_Beach_29572_recycling_centers.php
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Hey Doreen -
You are SOOO right! I am a mom in MB and while they have “some” recycling for the community it is severely lacking. No home pick-up for the vast majority of the county. Poor recycling stations at local shopping centers and the like…and not to mention the schools and even colleges! I found your blog when I was trying to find more ways to be green living in this area…and suffice to say there are not many. I have just set up my own little recycling center in my garage but will have to find time each week to drive it to one of the few centers each week - wasted gas, anyone? But I suppose that even if every resident (never mind all the tourists and bikers - eek!) just did the minimal amount of recycling, we would have a much different city/county.
Love your blog!
Good for you! Some of us torture ourselves over how we can be more responsible while others throw wrappers out the car window. It’s a matter of consciousness and conscience.
All that recyclable aluminum and plastic and not a single greedy salvage man in sight? Is capitalism that dead in the U,.S.? In many parts of Canada we have a deposit system in place on cans and bottles, a a whole fleet of people willing and able to supplement their income this way.
Uncle B - that would have been GREAT, but nope…no one to be found! I’m sure there are plenty of people who scavenge through the trash for those things, but I sure didn’t come across anyone!
That’s awesome! My kids and I stayed in Pawleys Island last year. I neurotically saved all forms of recyclables. We found a drop off station online and at the end of the week we dropped(and separated everything into many labeled bins) on the way to the airport. My friend was very glad we found the recycling station because she knows we would have been packing it to bring back to Cleveland!
Recycling freaks unite!
Tina
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