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I Always Recycle And Reuse Things



Anyone over the age of 32 should read this, as I copied this from a friend...

Checking out at the supermarket recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own carrier bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

I apologised and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The cashier responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."



She was right about one thing -- our generation didn't have the green thing in “Our” day.

So what did we have back then…?


After some reflection and soul-searching on "Our" day here's what I remembered we did have....


Back then, we returned milk bottles, fizzy pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilised and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly.

So they really were recycled.

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator or lift in every store and office building.

We walked to the supermarket and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two minutes up the road.

But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.


Back then, we washed the baby's nappies because we didn't have the throw-away kind.

We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days.

Kids got hand-me -down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that young lady is right. We didn't have the green thing back in our day.


Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room.

And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of England.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.


When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used screwed up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.


Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn.

We used a push mower that ran on human power.

We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.


But she's right. We didn't have the green thing back then.


We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.

We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.


But we didn't have the green thing back then.


Back then, people took the bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums into a 24- hour taxi service.

We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.

And we didn't need a computerised gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.


But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

(c) John Wiley .. 2015.....
shaggynz
Excellent post Markie ... very valid points, all of them ... everything used to be re-used ... even the classic fish and chips were wrapped up in newspapers (except the first layer which was clean paper) chickens ate the food scraps (or pigs if you were on a farm ) During the war years, rabbits were kept in the backyard eating grass and scraps, then being eaten themselves (something that I still do) Lighters were refillable and lasted a lifetime - I still have and use my father's military issue one (75 + years old) Fountain pens were refilled and again lasting a lifetime (still have my mother's pens) Nothing was wasted because you couldn't pop down to the supermarket and buy another one. If something broke, it could be repaired - not thrown out and replaced.
MarkLovesCoffee · 56-60, M
I hardly throw anything away...
I recycle all my paper card plastic and glass...
My coffee grouts' go in the garden...
Alongside all my veg peelings...which go into the garden composter...

Just before my father passed..he wanted a little tiny kettle...enough for a couple of cups of water...it was £5...,you know what his first question was...
"can you buy a new element for the kettle if this one goes..."..
I smiled...and told him unfortunately no...but that's the method today...its often cheaper to throw away ...and start again...

I service and install tvs and home cinema equipment...
Most of these huge great lcd screen tvs are literally un-repairable...
The legend on the back..says....no user serviceable parts inside...

You send em back to the manufactures...they just bin it...and send a new one....

 
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