Dear Carolyn: My husband and I live in the same suburb as his parents, which provides weekly curbside recycling pickup. But my in-laws — 70, in decent health — do not recycle. I cringe watching them throw away bottles and cans whenever we visit.
I had the idea to give them, for this coming Christmas, a nice trash can with separate compartments for trash and recycling, along with a supply of the required clear bags, so all they have to do is set the bag out on the curb.
But could this be perceived as imposing my hippie-dippy ideals on them, or trying to guilt them into recycling?
Carolyn says: It could be perceived that way, yes, because that's exactly what you're doing.
Plus, trying to social-engineer people through housewares you want them to have is not! a! Christmas! gift! It's like buying your spouse a new vacuum cleaner to make them better at doing chores for you. It's coal in their stocking with a side of superiority — and, ironically, extra plastic, steel or other resources.
If you believe your in-laws would want to recycle if it were easier for them to do so, then just buy them the trash can now out of the goodness of your heart. Or even better, tell them you appreciate yours and you'll get them one, too, if they want it.
Or even betterer, do some reading on what actually happens to most of our so-called recycling, then quit the nearly fruitless micro-activism with your in-laws and apply yourself instead to better community choices for trash. It's mostly going to landfills regardless, unless and until we all up our game.
And for Christmas, give them something they'd want.
