Like many businesses, we use labor to create value in our product. But this also creates waste – namely the packaging all those LEGO® sets come in. What to do with it all?
Recycling isn’t always easy.
Curbside recycling has become “normal” in many places. However, we live outside city limits and the trash services available to hire don’t offer recycling services. As a result, we have to either A) put it all in the landfill or B) drive our recyclables to the county’s recycling facility. We choose B.
To save trips across town, we let the recyclables build up between trips. You can see here what I recycled on the last trip in.
I filled that box full with cardboard and paper. Because the box weighed about 50 pounds, I had to carry from the bottom so it didn’t rip. The large plastic bag you see contains thousands of smaller bags – all packaging from LEGO® sets I parted out. Close to 10 pounds of plastic in there, all bags that will blow like crazy if they escape.
Leave No Trace
In a certain sense, recycling all this packaging makes a decent bit of extra work for us. But assuming that the recycling center can carry through and get this waste recycled (no longer taken for granted as China reduces its imports of material to recycle!), its totally worth it to reduce our impact on the rest of the world. Just as we leave no trace in the wilderness so others can enjoy it, we strive to do the same for our city – landfills and all. Now if only there were a way to get orders to customers without shipping….
