Recipes and lack of recycling

Today I finished a two-day project to update my recipe folder. LONG overdue, but I finally got around to it. I've been keeping recipes in Word documents for two or three years now, printing them to store in a folder with clear plastic sleeves for easy access in the kitchen. I was going to update it regularly, but of course that hasn't happened... instead the folder got filled with random bits of paper: hastily written recipes by other people, printouts from the Internet, cut out recipes from magazines or papers... and of course I made notes and minor changes to the recipes within the folder. What a mess. I did update and re-print a few pages, but not the whole thing.

But finally, I did a complete revision. I even figured out how to create an index (easy since I typed the recipes using 'styles' for different parts). This afternoon I finished and printed the entire 65 pages, so now my folder looks nice and tidy. At least for a week or two until I decide to put in something else...

The only problem is what to do with the previously printed pages. If we were in the UK, I could leave it out for the recyclers, or - at worst - take it to a paper recycling bin in a supermarket car park. But there's nothing like that here. The papers report of recycling initiatives, and the need to get rid of the horrible dumps to be in line with Europe, but I haven't seen it happening. There's a bottle bank of sorts by our supermarket, and a few places collect aluminium cans, but that's all. AT least, as far as I know.

It horrified me when we first came here, but gradually I became blasé and started throwing away paper, like everyone else seems to around here. Now after a month in the UK it seems almost immoral to do so. Everyone recycles there. Some town councils collect containers weekly or fortnightly. Some people don't even have to sort their recycling, they just have to leave it out. Real rubbish - the stuff that goes to landfills - is minimal. Here by contrast it's a HUGE amount. The dustmen come three times per week and will take whatever is put out for them. It's a good service... they do a great job. But it still goes against the grain to throw away so much.

So for now the previous pages of the recipe folder are stacked next to me for use as scrap paper. At least they'll get re-used once. I suppose I could shred them and add them to the compost eventually, but there's so MUCH paper here with all the advertising junk mail we get that it would be too much for my little heap.