I decided to take it in, and run back home, instead of waking the family up to follow me and then bring me back. It was a nice day outside and I was due for a run.
After dropping the car off, I started running back home, on mostly a one lane road in the country between the two towns. But as I was running I started noticing all the litter on the side of the road. Man, we have some litterbugs here. It was kind of sad.
And then I started noticing all the aluminum cans that people had thrown out their windows which had ended up on the side of the road in the weeds. The biggest litterbugs seem to be Bud Light drinkers, although Pepsi wasn't far behind. Really, I think I saw just about every beverage represented in the can litter.
And then I had an idea.
For the past year or two, we've been collecting can pull tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. If you don't know about the Ronald McDonald house, they do great work by allowing families to stay in their homes at a very cheap rate (like $15) while a loved one is in the hospital for an extended period of time. This past week, my wife took our boys down to deliver the tabs, and they also picked up a new little house to collect the tabs in:
So my run then became a can tab collection run. I think I collected about 50 tabs, and I didn't even get them all. Some cans were too far into the weeds, or too badly mangled, or I just didn't feel like stopping for some. My pocket was weighted pretty good with the tabs. I kind of felt bad about leaving the rest of the can there and just taking the tab, like I was littering all over again. But there was no way I could carry all those cans, and I justified it by the fact that it was someone else's litter.
It made for a lot of stopping to pull tabs during the run, but it was worth it, and I had fun.
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6 comments:
Two birds with one stone! They have organized litter runs to pick up trash and get in a few miles. You need to organize a 'tab' run.
good for you, taking care of people like that. in spring, as the snow melts, rubbish pops out of the snow. every year it amazes me how much trash gets thrown along our scenic roads in Vermont. every year i vow to take a day and clean up a section of road near our house. *crickets*....
I think that is a great idea. I've never tried it, but I think it's because I tend to run in the evenings so I don't see as much of the junk. I'll keep a lookout in the future. Thanks for the idea!
Interesting that RMD house takes just the tabs. I wonder why.
I'm glad you turned that into a meaningful run. :-)
I had no idea that the tabs were collected for the Ronald McD house! I'll have to start doing that!
Hi Oz,
I love what you are doing! We have a Ronald McDonald house right here in Minneapolis...it helps so many people in need:)
Seeing litter on the side of the street drives me crazy! I also appreciate you picking up the cans...you rock!
Enjoy your week!
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