My trash, my secret

Kirsten Shearer, of Kendall Park
   Hazardous waste drop off day is coming up, but I bet that most people didn’t know that. I recently read the editorial, “Hybrid cars a first step to energy plan” in the South Brunswick Post, which encouraged the township to be “more ambitious in its green goals.” I couldn’t agree more and with that said I must voice my suggestion for an easy step forward in our green agenda.
   For such a large township, South Brunswick has an awfully unimpressive recycling center but I’m grateful it exists and that we are privileged enough to have curbside pickup. Still, there is always room for improvement.
   Going green often involves compromise: I’ll sort it if you pick it up; I’ll pay 10 percent more now, if it’ll save me 20 percent later; I’ll buy local, if you bring it to my supermarket.
   With that in mind, I have to ask why it is so difficult for us to dispose of our hazardous household chemicals responsibly. I’m not speaking of barrels of glowing, toxic ooze, but everyday chemicals that most residents have plenty of. This summer while cleaning out my shed, I discovered old bottles of bug spray, pool chemicals, garden fertilizers and other dangerous products. I looked to the South Brunswick Recycling Center Website for help and found this awfully unimpressive list of drop-off dates and locations for 2008:
   March 16 — Middlesex County College, Edison
   April 19 — Middlesex County Highways Department, North Brunswick
   May 17 — Middlesex County Highways Department, Sayreville
   July 20 — Old Bridge Public Works
   Sept. 20 — Woodbridge Public Works
   Oct. 18 — Middlesex County Highways Department – North Brunswick
   Nov. 16 — Middlesex County College, Edison
   I found myself seriously reconsidering my options. The label on some of the chemicals put me at ease by suggesting that I simply wrap them in a few sheets of newspaper and throw them in the outside garbage. These disposal instructions were written under warnings that used bold words such as “toxic,” “contact poison control” and “explode.” All I could think was: “Newspaper? Really?” Would I have faith in newspaper as a sufficient barrier to keep a bottle of poison from spicing up some nearby groundwater?
   Yes or no, it would at least hide such a shameful act from my own eyes and perhaps from the garbage collector’s. Nevertheless, I could consider those instructions permission to choose between my garbage can, which can keep a secret, and a trek to who-knows-where on a single day of the month.
   I am dedicated to both the environment and the township and so I’m willing to do my part, but let’s be reasonable. A majority of people draw the line somewhere on going green. I suggest we be allowed to drop our hazardous materials at the South Brunswick Recycling Center to save us the hard decision. A lot of people with guilty secrets in their trash might come out in favor of the environment. It’s all about compromise after all.
Kirsten Shearer, of Kendall Park