I noticed that our recycling bin was overflowing, so I mentioned to one of my “young people” that we could get a lot more into the container and it would be easier to move if the boxes were broken down, flat. The response I got was, “I guess it’s my responsibility to take care of the earth, I guess you don’t care”. I’m still trying to understand how this response fit the given situation, but that’s not the issue here. The issue is recycling itself. All of a sudden it’s a “thing” to recycle. When I was growing up we did many of the same things we do today, but it wasn’t a “thing”, there weren’t special bins and special people who picked up your recycling. We re-purposed everything. Glass jars were saved and used to store everything from buttons to string, to nails. How many times have you heard someone who is not a young person look at an empty jar and say, “Now that’s a nice jar, we should save it”? Baby food jars were hot items; you would be surprised what people used to do with baby food jars. Cardboard boxes were reused as storage bins. Shoe boxes were used as drawer organizers long before someone “invented” them and began marketing and selling them. Most houses had a place in the basement for old jars, cans, boxes and newspaper that could be re-purposed into something useful. And this meant that all of the “recycled” items had to to be cleaned and neatly stored. Things were thrown out only when they were beyond use or re-use. I, personally, am very glad that recycling has become a “thing” and everyone is doing it. The recent wave of recycling had made the whole process so much easier. I no longer have to store all of my old items in the basement. I no longer have to hold on to an item until it has a new purpose. I can recycle with the understanding that the recycling center will recycle my item to a new purpose for me and that is a very good feeling. Stupid Things Young People Say and Think They Invented!