My Cans
Here's a little story that I told back in April of 2008.
I am a diet soda addict.
Rare is the day that I have less than two diet drinks (Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper are my two favorites, but I'm also likely to enjoy a Diet Pepsi from time to time), and sometimes, when it's dark (in that emotional "how will I get through the day" kind of way) and I haven't gotten enough sleep, I'll drink up to three. After 4:00, when I don't allow myself caffeine anymore, I might even try a Fanta Orange Zero, Sprite Zero or Diet Sierra Mist because I just like the way fizzy drinks taste.
It used to be that, when the diet soda cans built up on my desk, it didn't bother me to stick them in the trash when no one was looking. Of course, that was before we went and did a green issue of Lipstick. After reading about the ozone and lessening my carbon footprint and energy-efficiency and local eating for four weeks, I can't even think about throwing away those cans without finding myself awash with guilt (and shame from the judging stares of Tina and Nadria).
Unfortunately, between my addiction and my busy work schedule, I had ended up with about 25 empty aluminum cans on my desk. (It was starting to look like I time-shared my desk with a frat boy, only being that Diet Coke was taking over and not Miller Lite, I guess he would have been the most boring brother in the chapter — you know the one, you'd probably ask him to do your homework before you asked him to join you at Innisfree on a Friday night.)
When one of my co-workers from HR walked in, peeked at my desk and said, "Have you heard of water, Laurel?" I decided it was time to take action. On my lunch break, I went over to the recycling center on 25th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue North. And, what a lovely time I had — seriously. It was so easy to sort my cans and plastic bottles, and once I was done discarding the evidence of the carbonated monkey on my back, I took apart the cardboard box I had transported the cans in and recycled it, too.
In five minutes at the recycling center I accomplished far more than any other lunch break I've had. (Unless, of course, you count the time I was challenged to a corn stick eating contest over at John's ...)