Public recycling

At home, we recycle everything - cans, bottles, cardboard, paper, glass, and plastic. Anything that's fresh and organic (minus grease, meat, and bones) is composted. So when traveling, and in this case, attending a green industry conference (Garden Writers Association), I'd like to be able to recycle, too. Sometimes my car is like a mobile recycling center, bringing home plastic soda bottles, paper, etc.

To their credit, the Raleigh Convention Center recycles cans, bottles, and plastic, as did the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at a lovely reception this evening. The Convention Center has slots for newspapers, too.

But what about my banana peels and apple cores? And the waste (paper plates, uneaten food, napkins, etc) from our lunch today on the exhibit floor? And all the extra paper stuff and packaging of materials that exhibitors push on us.

Nice to have much of it (thanks especially to North Creek Nurseries and American Beauties for the cool Vernonia 'Iron Butterfly,' Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler', and Hibiscus moscheutos 'Torchy'), Renee's Garden, Ferry-Morse, and Baker's Creek for wonderful seeds, but I definitely appreciate the All-America Rose Selections folks that give us our 'press packets' in a small jump drive -- after viewing and potentially using the info, we can reuse it as a portable drive (unlike the throwaway CD's).

And why are all of the plant giveaways packaged in cute plastic bags instead of compostable paper? We did get lots of giveaways in reusable totes, but they're the sort that last for a couple of weeks with anything heavy, not heavy-duty tote bags. I guess I miss the old canvas totes (at least they were biodegradable).

OK, maybe I should be happy with the recycling bins, which are quite impressive, actually, but I'm a cranky environmentalist. I want compost receptables, too!