As RV Sometimers, obviously we love to travel but I have been noticing one thing that I do reguarly at our home base that just isn’t an option when we are on the road. That is the option to Recycle.

Recycling is a complex topic and there are many factors that go into it that are mostly controlled by government policies but I believe that we all can play a role and certainly do a bit better at the practice of recycling.

I am lucky enough, at our home base, to be able to recycle almost all materials. Our recycle bin is overflowing and we have cut back our garbage by 3x. Now, the controversy with this is that due to changes in policy, we know that not all of what I take to the recycle facility actually makes it through the process and some may even go to the landfill I was trying to avoid. But, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. It just means we need to do it better.

When I say “we should do it better” I mean “we” as individuals and “we” as our governments. Contamination in recycling is the biggest problem that stops materials from making it through the recycling process. So if “we” as individuals, did a better job at separating it there would be less contamination and if “we” as governments, had more advanced equipment, better education programs, handled more of the recycling process at home (vs sending it to China), and had more standardized programs across the country, “we” as in all of us, could really do this. I mean we are doing it now but boy could we do it better!

What I find so disturbing when we travel is that in many, actually most RV Parks I have limited to no recycling options. I do have to give credit to those parks, like the one in my video that provide full options. But generally at most parks we can recycle drinking containers that are returnable for cash and that’s it! No paper, no plastic, no glass, no tin. Really! It drives me crazy when I have to put those items into a garbage bin. Ideally, I’d love to not purchase many items but practically it is not an option. In most States we travel through they even garbage drinking cans and bottles of any material.

So I made this video to briefly discuss how we all can make a difference and encourage all of you RV friendly, earth loving, nature experiencing folks out there to start to demand recycle options from governments (federal and state/provincial) and private parks.

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! The RV Community is a powerful group of people and if we want the beautiful places we go to to be maintained for years to come this is one little thing we can do to help. Oh and stop using disposable plates, cups, and utensils. That’s another thing to help.

I’m sure there are many other perspectives on this topic and I welcome comments to share your’s. Drop me a line.