Recycling What My Curbside Vendor Dosen't

So, in my little neck of the woods there are very few options for recycling. I used to live outside San Francisco, CA and recycling was so simple it was brainless. In fact, everyone did it, to some degree. There were those who only recycled the "obvious" stuff like newspaper and plastic and glass. But if you were so inclined, and I was, you could recycle everything but tinfoil and construction waste right in the HUGE weekly curbside recycling bin. It was awesome.

Not so much here.

Here, I pay extra for recycling. (Lets not get into the fact that my family of 4 only use 1/4 of the smallest garbage bin/allotment we can subscribe to, while other neighbors with smaller families have overflowing bins each and every week!) But the best garbage and recycling company I found only takes certain #1 & #2 plastics, newspaper and white office paper, and cardboard. That is it. If you want to recycle anything else you have to figure out some other alternative.

Luckily there is an organization you can pay to drop off your recycling stuff. But lets face it, that is not convenient nor affordable! I store up my "non-recyclable recyclables" for a month or so, and then throw the bag into my car and drive the 20 miles to the recycling station. Sounds so convenient, environmentally pleasing and fun, right? I do try to take a few other family's stuff in my trip, but still it is not so convenient, and there are many times when I just want to throw my glass container in the garbage bin and be done with it. ...for now, I know .....

Why is being environmentally aware and conscience so difficult??!