Eighteen years ago, I made a very trashy documentary. About the garbage crisis, the film took me trekking through a massive landfill with chairs, plastic wrap, clothing, you name it, rearing their ugly heads and legs through a stinky disgusting morass of trash.
So, I got it. “Trashing the Northwest” made me an avid and almost rabid recycler. Although I produced a humorous music video to begin the documentary, there was nothing funny about toxic waste leaching into the groundwater, potentially running out of space in which to dump our dregs, or strangling birds with six-pack plastic.
It’s so easy to get it when you actually see it. Originally from the “show me” state of Missouri, I’ve always been a bit of a skeptic, so seeing the result of tossing a bag into the trash made me wholly conscious of the impact of my actions. But what of those who haven’t seen it? How do we convince the few who remain unconvinced, or maybe just too lazy to do what needs to be done, to get them to change their ways?
Advertising and PSA campaigns help – and of course how could anyone miss this year’s Earth Day media blitz?! But I’m interested in your ideas about how to bring the uneducated, undecided, or unmotivated into the recycling fold. As recently as a couple of years ago, a couple I knew who lived in an exclusive neighborhood in its own very small incorporated town, were still not recycling, because the city didn’t have a program. It wasn’t until a small group of residents took the lead and did the work that a recycling program was instituted.
What are your thoughts about this? Please share them, because all of us need to get it — and soon.
With gratitude, best wishes for a beautiful Earth Day, and always hope,
Lori
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Lori Hope
Producer • Speaker • Author
www.LoriHope.com
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