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After
my last article on recycling, I
received an email from a woman who
was from rural
Campbell
County
. She stated how challenging it is
to recycle in the country, because
they do not have curbside
recycling. Trying to be green in
rural areas can present different
challenges than those encountered
by residents of a city.
Most
individuals living in rural areas
do not have to be reminded to eat
local, because many grow their own
food or live very close to a farm
where they can purchase it. They
probably don’t dwell on the
healthful aspects of eating
locally, since many have grown up
eating fresh produce.
City
dwellers, on the other hand, must
find a farmer or go to a
farmer’s market to purchase
local food. Many of us have to be
sold on the benefits of it, such
as it tastes better or it is
healthier for you and the
environment. We eat grocery store
food, because it is convenient.
However, we need to think about
the environmental cost of that
convenience in gas, emissions, and
preservative sprays to get that
food to us from an average of 1400
miles away.
City
dwellers typically don’t have to
travel far to shop for their
needs; stores are plentiful and
close. For most of us, the Post
Office, bank and doctors are all
within an easy commute. Still we
need to think about combining our
trips to make the most efficient
use of fuel. In the country,
things are more spread out. It may
be many miles to the nearest bank
or store; combining trips becomes
a necessity.
Most
of us that live in northern
Campbell
County
are within walking distance to a
bus stop. We can go anywhere,
especially if we are willing to
transfer to other bus lines in
Kentucky
or
Ohio
. Yet, many of us do not use
public transportation as much as
we could and should. If you
haven’t checked into the buses
lately, please do so at www.tankbus.org.
During rush hour in
Fort Thomas
, buses run as often as every 30
minutes. If you live on a bus
route and you work in either
downtown
Cincinnati
or
Covington
, are you taking the bus?
In
the rural areas, you may need to
travel many miles before you
arrive at a ‘park and ride’ to
catch a bus. Car pooling is always
an option for getting to the bus
stop or to a work place for
someone who is willing to find a
person to share a car ride with
them. Check out www.rideshare.com
or www.erideshare.com
for more information.
What
do you do if you don’t have
curbside recycling? That’s the
typical situation in many rural
counties of
Northern Kentucky
. To recycle you must store your
cans, bottles, plastics and paper,
and then transport it to a
recycling drop off point. You will
probably combine it with one of
your other trips into the city to
save on gas and hope that you
haven’t forgotten to load it
when you get to the recycling drop
off point.
It
wasn’t too long ago when
Fort Thomas
residents had to drop off their
recycling at the city building.
Since the city moved to curbside
recycling, I would imagine our
recycling volume has increased
substantially. However, we still
need to improve our recycling
efforts before we have 100%
participation, especially in the
area of cardboard recycling..
City
versus rural. Each group faces its
own challenges and must make some
sacrifices to become greener. A
greener lifestyle is attainable as
long as we keep working to
overcome those challenges. We all
have a long way to go, but we get
closer with each step we are
willing to take.
Sharon
Tepe is the founder of Go Green.
If you would like more
information, contact
Sharon
at sharon.tepe@fuse.net
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