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Erin and I were out for a walk the other day, and we ran into our neighbors from across the street.  They were out with their daughter and son-in-law.  We talked for a bit, and then we all started heading back to our respective houses.  We were walking behind them when our neighbor's son-in-law started walking off the sidewalk and onto the grass.  I was a little confused until I saw him reach underneath a tree and pick up an empty beer bottle that someone had decided to throw out there rather than disposing of properly.  I have no idea how he saw it there, but I was really happy to see someone doing something simple to help our environment.  Too many times I see people just neglecting things that they could do with little to no effort, like throwing away paper at the office when there is a recyclying bin right next to each garbage can in each cubicle and office.

We both actually go out of our way at times to deal with garbage and recycling.  Whenever we are out and get a bottled drink somewhere that doesn't have recycling bins readily available, I take our bottles with us to recycle at home.  I've carried an empty iced tea bottle around the mall for over an hour on occasion, just to be able to recycle it instead of throw it away.  The same thing goes when I see bottles laying around after Ultimate is done for the night.  I'd rather pick them up and recycle them at home than throw them away.

Of course, I'm not asking for something that drastic from anyone else.  All I would like to see is people pick up their garbage and take it with them until they can throw it away in the proper recepticle.  It would be nice if more people would recycle things like bottles and cans when out of the house, but I'm just looking for baby steps right now.  Next time you are going to throw your trash on the side of the road, whether you are walking, biking, or driving, just hold back and take care of it at home.  It isn't going to hurt you to keep that empty bottle in your car a little bit longer.