A Day of Learning – Part 1

Even regular activities offer me the opportunity for learning. Today was a great example. For months, we've been accumulating empty, dried-out paint containers (from the house painting adventure). Cary, North Carolina is a major recycling town and in the past, I've read that paint buckets need to recycled. But, they can’t just go to the neighborhood recycling center; they need to go to the regional hazardous waste sites.

Turns out, empty paint buckets no longer need to be recycled; they can simply go in the regular garbage. You mean I could have thrown these away any time? Since I was there, the recycling attendant and I had a contest tossing the paint buckets into the gondolas of garbage. Entertainment at the junkyard. The buckets are fairly easy to toss, but the tops – that’s another story. We tried the Frisbee throw. I wasn't that successful.

I also learned that if there is paint left in the container, recycle it. They pump all the paint into a 400 gallon container and spray that paint on the landfill area as an odor reducer. Really?

Finally, I stopped at the cardboard recycling area to get rid of a truckload of cardboard. I must say, I like the Cary recycling center better. If I go alone, one of the helpers ALWAYS helps me unload (do I use my feminine wiles – well, maybe just a little). At this recycling center, the helper just watched as I unloaded the cardboard – he did not lift a finger. I know it’s not his job, but he wasn't doing anything but watching me at the time.

So, I learned about paint recycling and I have a cleaner garage. A good start to the day.