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Family News
Janurary 2007
We have lived in places in America that had mandatory recycling programs. Usually this involved special bins for plastics, metals, and paper which had to be separated from your regular garbage. In South Africa we do not have a formal recycling program. However, there are people who serve this purpose informally. Each garbage day these people walk from house to house and look through the garbage on the curbside, trying to find plastics and metal. I have heard that some will even look for scraps of food. At the end of the day canvas bins on wheels, filled with the day's collections, are walked several miles to a recycling center where their material is weighed and a small amount of money is received.
While I may have been compelled to participate in a Stateside recycling program, I am eager to "participate" here. We set aside our recyclables and collect them in plastic bags to distribute on garbage day. We always give out gospel tracts, and sometimes a small piece of bread the size of a hamburger bun. Many people are surprised that a white man would take the time to do this for them. One of my South African pastor friends says he believes these actions would say much to these who are the poorest of this country.
We hear some incredible responses to our recycling efforts. Some are relunctant to come until they see I have something to give them. I think they are afraid that I am the house owner and will get mad at them for going through the garbage. But when they come they say things like, "Oh man you save my life." One man called Nancy "the queen of the nations," which I understand means she has compassion for people making her a mother to everyone.
John Moore
Collecting Recyclables
My Kind of Recycling