Last week, when I walked out to retrieve a few errant cans along the roadside, I ended up collecting a whopping 5 pounds, 10 ounces of litter – most of it recyclable. To see what might have accumulated in a weeks time I headed out with a trashbag and re-walked the road. Just before leaving I swapped the shopping bag that I had grabbed for a large trash bag. Boy was I glad – I came back with 12 pounds, 12.6 ounces of mixed trash and recycling – from a road that I walked 7 days ago. WHAT!!!?
My friend Diane rightly points out that waste often falls out of trash trucks as they zoom along. Maybe some of this waste comes from the trucks but this mix of waste, and its distribution along the road, points to folk drinking (beer mostly), driving, and tossing their finished cans out onto the edge of a beautiful country road.
I have to ask WHY?? There are parts of the United States where recycling is non-existent but in this particular area there are regular trash and single stream recycling pick-ups. There is a significant amount of messaging around how to manage waste. There is also a lot of energy around the social good of cleaning up the environment. This 12-pounds of waste is like a canary in the coal mine – an indicator of an environmental problem that we have direct responsibility for and have the ability to solve – immediately – before it gets out of control. Consider changing the 
mantra from drink, drive, and toss, to drink, drive, and put back in the bag to dispose of later. It really is that easy.
So, what was in that 12 lbs, 12.6 oz? My backyard waste audit resulted in the following:
- About 3 lbs, 6 oz was non-recyclable landfill bound trash, all the rest (9 lbs, 6.5 oz) was recyclable.
- The recyclables included:
- 2 lbs, 9.6 oz Aluminum Cans;
- 5 lbs, 2.5 oz Glass;
- 1 lb, 4.4 oz Plastic;
- and 3.5 oz Thin Film Plastic.
Although they weighed less than the glass, the recyclable aluminum cans made up the largest volume of litter. As you can see from the pictured layout most of these cans were beer cans (all of the glass containers were for beer containers). I am not sure how many of you read your beer cans but brewers, maybe because they care, but more likely because of regulations, are looking to educate us by labeling the cans as recyclable. Many even seem to embrace the Zero Waste movement by asking us to ‘Please Recycle’ or ‘Be Responsible and Recycle’.
Two brewers, The Plank Road Brewery with its Icehouse brew, and Voodoo Ranger, give recycling lip service; Voodoo at least includes the recycling symbol, Icehouse
just reminds us that the can is made of ’Recyclable Aluminum’.
I am thinking that can manufacturers might consider adding sound effects as people drink that quietly repeat, “Hey, Don’t Litter!”, …. I suppose that they could add, “Don’t drink and drive” too, but I don’t want to be too preachy.
Manufacturers in many different industries are taking responsibility for their product’s end-of-life by developing biodegradable and compostable materials, setting up ways to return packaging (and the product itself) for reuse or re-manufacture, and improving packaging 
recyclability. Aluminum cans are almost infinitely recyclable but the scrap value is a little low ($0.34/pound today) to incentivize a litterer to not throw the can out the window. But what if the various brewers, or maybe a bigger brewer with a large marketing budget, installed can compacting collection units in selected beer sellers. They could set up a frequent compactor program that rewards returns with points toward future purchase discounts or maybe the ability to donate to a local tree planting program or clean water action group.
In the meantime, I think I will consider a weekly walk along the quiet roadway a vital part of my exercise routine and hopefully, that bag I carry, will be empty every time I get back to the meadow. I think that the Vital IPA can says it best, “Taste Victory Responsibly, Please Recycle”. Here’s to an Environmental Victory!
