I grew up with a grandmother I have often referred to as the first environmentalist I ever knew. She taught me by example how to save and conserve. She and my grandfather were avid sailors, a lifestyle that automatically confers the need to conserve in order to survive life in cramped quarters with others.

Onboard, each dinner plate was wiped with the user’s napkin before being lowered into the dish washing bucket. Plates were then swabbed with a soapy sponge, piled into the tiny sink and doused with just enough water to remove the suds. There, as well as at home, “tin” foil was saved for re-use, in the crisper of all places. No bread or crackers in there, just foil and re-usable wax paper. Cereal boxes and juice cartons were flattened underfoot so that we didn’t dispose of a canister of air that became a space hog in the trash can. To witness my diminutive grandmother crush these items while explaining her purpose was memorable.

As time has gone by, those lessons and what I thought were my grandmother’s idiosyncrasies have evolved into my own recycling habit. I live where many things can be recycled with minimum effort. However, sometimes I find myself going the “extra mile” to make sure I contribute to the greater recycling effort in my own small way. My husband thinks of me, as somewhat of a trash picker when he finds me correcting our trash bins, to make sure we are not throwing recyclables in with the garbage.

My “proudest” moment came recently when we were on vacation in Washington DC with our children. Empty drink bottles and cans began to collect around the kitchenette sink in our hotel room. After several days, it was clear that housekeeping was not going to take them. I called the front desk to ask whether the hotel would be recycling our collection of bottles. The answer was no.  Incensed, I began to think of a way to recycle while away from home. Should I give them to my cousin who planned to take us on a night tour of the city? Awkward.

I realized that I had seen bottle-recycling bins next to trashcans all around the Washington mall. On our last full day of sightseeing, I loaded our bottles into my re-usable grocery bag, rode the Metro downtown with my family and deposited them in a city recycle bin. It was a small gesture, but one that was very satisfying no matter how idiosyncratic. My grandmother would have been proud!

Upon my return home, I Googled the hotel chain to see what kind of marketing they do about sustainability. To my surprise, there was extensive information regarding their efforts as a corporation. Do they have any idea how that translates to their individual hotels? The next step will be for me to contact them with my story to see what kind of a response I get. Stay tuned….

Please feel free to share any stories you may have regarding your environmental mentors or recycling idiosyncrasies!