Celebrate each step

You come home from work and in place of the organized and mess-free home, you left this morning, you enter chaos. Even an amateur hunter could follow the trail across the entire first level and lead to the bedrooms of the accused. Step by step, sock by sock and paper by paper anger rises as you walk. You are about to blow.

With so many examples of wrong behavior, how can you open the door and celebrate the homework that is currently being worked on? 

It may be a leap, but in my mind, this is the current state of recycling. 

We read articles, watch news stories, and see blips on our social media. Recycling is going in the wrong direction and the pollution and destruction of our environment are at an all-time high, or is it? Sometimes when you are so close, you cannot even make out the big picture, you are not getting an accurate view, it's just all blurry and messy. 

Recycling by nature is messy (both figuratively and literally). When you are dealing with "trash" you don't always get the respect and attention you deserve. Yet some of the most important tasks are often overlooked - until a problem arises. Despite the publicized new buzz of recycling failures, litter increases, pollution, false recycling reports, and falling recycling rates there are a lot of positive things happening in the industry. 

Consumers have made known their concerns for our environment - at least in buying situations. Companies have been forced to more closely examine their environmental impact (both in how they do business and what they're producing). These changes are great for the industry and our environment, these changes are directly due to consumer voices. These changes should be celebrated! Large companies are tirelessly seeking recycled content raw material because that is a requirement that purchasers have set. Companies are reviewing their overall strategy to find more environmentally friendly and sustainable ways to do business. We still have a ways to go, and consumers now need to do their part and ensure they are buying with care and recycling with care. Regardless, good things are underway and we all really need to celebrate each step.