Curbside recycing help!!!?

Question

hi, i live in cumfries virginia. my apartment complex does not and will not provide curbside recycling. my parents will not ley me sign a petition or let me start a group. i can't find any curbside recycling that i need, for all kinds of paper, plastics, metels and glass. and the drop off box for these materials i found are a couple miles away. and my family does not own a car! i want to recycle but this is becoming a hardship.

does anybody know of any other solutions?

Answer 1

The only thing that i could suggest would be to try partnering up with a neighbor of one of your friends.

Answer 2

i truly feel your pain ( well, not as bad tho bcos my parents would never try to stop free expression and i own a car that i rarely drive).  I have had many problems trying to get a recycling program that would be paid for by the city works dept.  However, since the place that I lived was in an unincorporated area (meaning, not part of any city), none of the surrounding cities wanted to foot the bill, either.  I ended up contacting the county waste management dept. who suggested that I get in touch with my local recycling coordinator.  When living in southern california, northern california is not local.  Long story short; I ended up starting a recycling program for all one thousand people in my town.  Where there is a will, there is a way.  You sound pretty concerned and that is all it takes to make a difference (care).  

I don't know if VA (?) is like CA, if it is, then I would imagine that your state legislators would be interested in hearing how they are not following waste reduction levels (50% of what you throw away must be diverted to a MRF-material recovery facility- to be sifted through and then recycled or thrown away(there will always be a waste stream).

Legislators can take an awfully long time to return calls (unless you alertthe local media on the topic and gain some covverage), so please try a site called WasteWise.gov they are good.  Also try your local public works dept. and sometimes thru the garbage pick up they can institute recycling also.  try going through Earth911 or one of your local environmental groups-they usually know how to stir things up.

good luck!  don't give up faith even when things seem dismal.