Recycle and reuse

Dominicans are experts at recycling and reusing. Nothing of value gets left in the trash, and seldom does it arrive at the trash. Wealthy people in every country throw away their excess, and there are always poorer people looking to recycle what is still good.

But here, in the DR, there is not nearly as much good stuff thrown away. If my blow dryer breaks, I don't throw it away. I get it repaired. Or if I decide to buy a new one, I give it away to a friend. The friend will repair it for her use.

In fact, it is easy to get rid of anything I no longer use, by just setting it outside my gate. It will disappear in a matter of minutes, and be taken home by someone who will either use it or sell it, or give it to someone who needs it.

I don't throw bottles in the trash. I just set them outside. Sooner or later, a man who collects bottles will pick them up.

Some examples of reusing: Plastic soda bottles--the top is cut off, and the bottom is filled with water and stuck in the freezer. This provides a nice big block of ice, which is helpful for keeping your freezer cold during blackouts, and of course for its normal use in your drinks. The tops to the bottles? They make great checkers. You just use different colors for the different players. Tops to 5 gallon jugs (water cooler type) are used for baseballs when kids get together and play stickball in the street. I've also seen a cereal box used as a mitt! No wonder the Dominicans grow such excellent ball players.

This tendency to not throw anything away has occasionally been a problem for me at the school. I would find a plastic toy, pretty torn up. Perhaps a toy car with three wheels missing and sharp edges of the plastic sticking out. I would throw this out. The next day, I would come in and find it put back with the other toys. In fact, no matter how many times I threw it out, people always assumed it was in the trash by mistake and returned it. I found that the best way to get rid of something was to give it away. As the saying goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." And it was one less piece of plastic in the landfill.

All this reusing and recycling is good for the planet, and it's a normal part of this Dominican Life.