Timeout

Yesterday was The Great Rogers Interruption where most of the country lost access to internet, phones, and of less weight to me, cable TV (I’m sure that home security systems were also out.) It was unusual to have no connectivity for almost 30 hours, and several services are still either offline or performing erratically.  (For instance, if I turn the channel to the news, it will suddenly change to car racing when nobody touches a remote.). Plus none of the recorded shows will play off the PVR — all extremely minor inconveniences — and we managed quite well.  I dug out several books, including some that I’d downloaded, and read quietly most of yesterday, ignoring the little twinges that suggested that I could be doing something more productive.  Today I took the little dictator out for a short walk — made shorter by the fact that I’d forgotten to take my cane, so I couldn’t go quite as far.  Don took advantage of the outing to nip out to the grocery, so I was left with an annoyed and distraught dictator who doesn’t appreciate it when his subjects are not all within tummy massage distance.  He’s curled up on the sofa, keeping a close eye on us, and trying to steal strawberries and clementines from us.

I had gone into a store this week, and there was a sign on the door saying that they would no longer provide plastic bags.  Customers are encouraged to bring their own bags , or they can purchase branded reusable bags in store.  I understand and appreciate the initiative to reduce plastic pollution, and I’ve been in the habit of taking shopping bags with me — some foldable ones in my handbag, and smaller produce bags, etc — for a few years now, ever since stores started charging for bags.  I’m probably looking at this from the wrong side of the equation, but IMO, if a store starts doing something that reduces their costs, their prices should reflect a reduction.  Things like self checkout, which effectively reduces staff levels, should result in a real reduction in prices as HR costs, and some ancillary ones, would have dropped,   But no.  Prior to the pandemic, coffee shops were offering a rebate (about $0.10/cup) if you brought your own cup; that stopped with covid.  Fast food places now ask before providing cutlery on take out orders; that should also come with a reduction of some few cents if the customer says “no.”  I also note that there are “eco-charges” for the “safe disposal” of potentially toxic items, like electronics, paint, car fluids, etc, which are added at the point of sale, but then there are additional fees at the time of disposal!!  I feel a little frustrated at the vast number of extra fees / taxes / surcharges that are added on to a growing list of items.  They are often couched as ways to “protect the environment” or “save the Earth” but do they really?  Too many recyclable items wind up in landfills, so that doesn’t help protect or save anything.  I think that there should be some major improvements to the recycling program, so that more items can actually be recycled, and not shipped to landfills or to poorer countries where they end up in the ocean.  I’m horrified to see how much trash gets into the ocean, how much is left on beaches / riverbanks / parks, etc.  And when you add the huge volume of disposable items like food containers, personal care products, and so on… it’s no wonder that we’re practically buried in trash!  A more effective recycling process would be fabulous.  I mean, if we could recycle used food containers, that would mean a massive drop in items heading to a landfill.  Plus, being able to recycle a wider range of items, including plastics like food wrap, styrofoam , etc (more food containers!!) and things like toothbrushes, medical and personal waste could also be recycling candidates.

The “earth saving” concept has 3 “parts” — reduce, reuse and recycle.  We could potentially do a lot more reduction and reuse which would mean less waste.  Talking to some of my friends recently, we were a little nostalgic about air travel in the 70s where airlines used real cutlery and china dishes.  And then someone showed pictures of food vans from WWII and shortly after, where they also used (and washed regularly) china cups and plates to serve their clients (who, I imagine, sat nearby to eat their meals or swallow their tea/coffee/juices) and more recently, tiffin wallahs in India, who drop off meals to office workers in tiffins, collect, wash and reuse the tins.  This differs from the “food subscription services” which contain quantities of plastics and other non-recyclables, all packed up nicely in boxes.

OK, I’m off my soapbox, which I’ll put away carefully until my next rant!  It’s a handy little box that fits in a small space when folded 😆 But rant over, so good night my lovelies!  Dream well!