There's only a few days left in our Oregon coast vacation; we've spent most of our time relaxing, walking around town and of course enjoying the beach. Fortunately the beach here in Rockaway is fairly deserted, which means the boy can have his run of the beach and we don't have to worry that he's disturbing anyone else or stealing other kids toys.
The boy loves the sand, the rocks and the seaweed but is not so keen on the Ocean itself, in fact after six days here, all he will do is stomp his toe in the edge of the water and then bolt up the beach. That being said, I have to admit it is absolutley adorable when he hunkers down to run from the waves.
I love the sleepy, beach town feel of Rockaway and I have but one complaint; there is no recycling. Although as a state Oregon recycles, there is no facility, collection or means to recycle here. Our welcome package at the house was very clear, EVERYTHING goes into the garbage. Every time a recyclable goes into the garbage my entire family's heart sinks just a little bit and add in the disposable diapers we're using because we are on vacation and our garbage has more than tripled this week.
Despite my passion, I rarely talk about living green on the Momma Stuff Blog. It almost seems redundant to write about day to day green living activities like recycling, composting, reusable cups and shopping bags, because to me its not an option, its a way of life. Where I live we have curbside pick up for all recyclables, papers, plastics, metals and cardboard and they are even rolling out a food scraps program so that all food wastes, paper towels, paper plates and the like can be sent out for composting.
I do not consider our town overly progressive from an environmental perspective, however we are getting there. At a recent City-sponsored event I was ecstatic to find not only were the recycling and composting bins considerably more prominent than the garbage, but there was also a portable tap water station to fill up water bottles. We have some of the best tap water on the west coast and I am proud to say I drink it every day.
This trip to Oregon has reminded me that living green may be my mantra, but I shouldn't assume that everyone else is afforded the same luxury of having the facilities and the means to look out for the environment every step of the way. I hope this trip will serve as a reminder to share more of my environmental knowledge and experiences, so that we can all work towards a greener future.
Does your family 'live green'?
What actions do you take to minimize your impact on the Earth?
What actions do you take to minimize your impact on the Earth?
