Fritzi would be pleased

A dearly demented friend and I celebrated New Year's 2005 by emailing back and forth about recyclables collection in Seattle, and wishing we had a similar service in the DFW area. Old Dearly Demented passed some of our comments on to city council members, who passed them on to civil servants. My concerns were assigned to a young Commercial Diversion Coordinator named Christopher. We set up an appointment to meet at my condo, tour the complex, and brainstorm recycling collection options for January fourteenth. In a surreal moment of hyper-practicality and blasted-through-a-cement wall emotion, the first call I made after learning that my mother had passed away January fourteenth was to this young man to cancel our appointment. (I couldn't cancel the appointment with the equally young plumber, since I couldn't leave town with my kitchen sink clogged and leaking.)

It was over a month before I could think much about recycling. Waste audits of the complex dumpsters' contents showed nearly sixty percent of our garbage was recyclable. Christopher and I finally met in February, and began our plan to convince the condo owners association and board, the management company, and the city that recycling collection in the complex could be feasible. Only one apartment complex in the city has regular pick-up, and no condo communities. This was a chance to change the city program as well as make it easier for me to recycle all my junk mail!

Mom was so involved in collecting items for me to reuse in my art classes, and was a can-crusher from way back in the early days of recycling. I think she would be pleased that eight recycling collection carts were delivered to the condos and conveniently placed around the complex on the eve of her birthday. Work remains to inform and encourage residents to participate. If we can make recycling work, the city is willing to expand collection to other complexes. If Plano can make it work, maybe Dallas will be encouraged to expand services to its large apartment and townhouse population.


Please join me. Honor your mother and our Mother Earth.
Reduce--Reuse--Recycle.