Recycling

David here...
Recycling takes many forms. One form is that of a young girl with a monkey on her head (saddlebacked tamarin I think). For those of us who live in Chesterfield County, we can count on having a truck come by once every two weeks to pick up a generous definition of recyclables. In Pucallpa things work a bit differently. Here, in a neighborhood littered with trash, some enterprising young neighborhood girls (photo left) have found a way to make some pocket money. Seeing the two collecting plastic bottles led me to dash into our house (Felix and I were watching the neighborhood boys play 4 vs. 4 ultimate frisbee: wonder how they learned how to do that?) and give them a black plastic bag of bottles Leigh had been collecting. I'm sure they will be back for more, and we'll be happy to see all three! Our limited but growing supply of possessions here in Pucallpa reminds me of our family's embrace of the easy excess of the American economy. Here, I'm very aware that we are putting out four small bags of trash to every one of our neighbors' (although we don't burn our plastics and papers in the yard like some of our neighbors do either). Hopefully, we can reduce once our settling in-spending spree settles down. Still, we do already have more than most of the neighbors I think. Do we really need more than four plates? Thinking of this, I was happy to see Rosenbloom's August 7 NYT article on consumption. Something to think about down here. An opportunity to embrace experience and celebrate spartan living?