Let’s get ready to recycle

By Jeff Poole
Review Managing Editor
Published: May 15, 2008

It seems like 2012 is a long way away.
In reality, it’s not. It’s just four years away.
Then, our landfill will close and the way we dispose of our trash will change.
Our thinking needs to change well before then.
By that time, the county will have the landfill closed and will have figured out the details of our new transfer station.
We’ll still haul our trash to Porter Road, but instead of it getting dumped just up the hill, it will be hauled off to some other county. As part of that arrangement, we’ll pay someone to haul our trash from here to there. Given the ever-rising cost of fuel, that likely won’t be cheap.
But, we have the opportunity to drive down costs--if only we’ll modify our lifestyles slightly.
Years ago, recycling was for tree-hugging hippies. Now, it’s a standard part of our lexicon and childhood education.
Some of us regularly recycle (even if we forget to make regular trips to the recycling bins). Still, the habit has become ingrained and we reduce our contribution to the waste stream while preserving our environment. Win-win.
As we look four years down the road, we’re relying on the county to get their affairs in order to close our landfill and open our new transfer station.
Meanwhile, we need to make sure our own houses are in order--particularly with bins for plastic, aluminum/metal, glass and cardboard.

The next time we hear someone complain “there’s nothing to do here” in Orange County, we have only to open up an Orange County Review and show them the wonderful opportunities we have locally.
For instance, just last week, we had a world-class pianist perform two concerts of Chopin and Liszt in Barboursville and then the opening of the Four County Players’ latest production “Lend Me a Tenor.”
Both events were top-notch, entertaining and accessible.
But if community theater and classical music isn’t really your style, you only have to look at Orange County’s thriving art community, led by The Arts Center in Orange.
Each week, they have programs and exhibits that reach the artist in each of us.
And then there are the wonderful concerts put on by our various church, school and community choirs and school theatrical productions like last week’s “Into the Woods” at OCHS or “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Grymes this week. 
Communities much larger than ours are envious of our cultural opportunities.
No, we don’t have a movie theater or a bowling alley. Given the choice between them and what we have, we’d take what we have.
There’s a difference between being entertained and entertaining ourselves. When we entertain ourselves, our efforts have more value because we’re supporting our community.
Oh, there’s plenty to do in Orange County. We only need to do it.