Wow Gaston! No joke you have been filling that recycling bin book up at the Hardin Site quickly. Thanks for doing your part to reuse this valuable paper resource. If you missed last week’s article, we are now recycling hardback and paperback books at Hardin Recycle Center, for more details you can look online at the Solid Waste website.

Can you believe we are at the end of June? That means it is time to start planning for that 4^th of July celebration. A truly patriotic event would celebrate our independence and also pay respects to the amazing natural resources our forefathers (and mothers) helped to secure for our wise use. Why don’t you wow your guests this year by using real plates instead of paper ones? (But, I’d have to wash the dishes?) Let me ask you this. Would your grandparents or great-grandparents have had a choice at their July 4 picnic celebration to throw away their plates? Let’s keep on going back in time and consider all the many thousands of years human civilization ate off pottery, ceramic, glass, silver, wood platters, and so my patriotic brothers and sisters, you can do better. Side note: do check that any ceramic dishes over 40 years old do not contain lead in the paint by checking with a home lead test kit from a hardware store. Scrape that food into the trash (or better yet compost the good scraps) and set up a few bins in the sink to encourage people to wash and rinse their own plate, cup and silverware. If you have an easy-to-follow set up, it won’t take much time at all. Maybe people who don’t bring food to your event (we know them, “they forgot” or “didn’t have time”) can be on kitchen patrol, and yes, your house, your rules. And then voila! Your trash haul should be significantly reduced without all those party cups and plates taking up space, and your guests got to feel like they were important enough for you to use the real dishes.

What if you are on a boat for the big day? A little planning will make your trip fun and low-impact. Even though getting rid of single-use plastic is a pain, there is a useful place for heavy-duty reusable picnicware because it is great for boats and camping. Bring a trash bag for food waste, use a paper towel to wipe off the plates, and then stash the dirty plates in an empty bin with the recyclables. You can sort it all out when you have a clear head the next day. Just don’t toss your trash on the banks or overboard, DNR will fine you (as they should) for littering. That would be very un-American of you, or your boat guests.

So the day is rolling along: you are sipping on one of the great American domestics, or perhaps a carbonated sugary concoction, recycling the bottles and cans, and enjoying the celebratory vibe of being in the land of the free, home of the brave. I invite you to ponder on this as you look out on your family and friends, or if you are having a quiet retreat, the space that surrounds you: What American freedoms are you taking for granted? The ability to breathe clean air, afforded to Americans by the EPA was a radical act when it was made into law. You can thank the scientific community and policymakers for that freedom from pollution. If you are bobbing on the water, consider that there are places in the world where safe fresh water is so scarce, and people walk for miles to get it. There are places where the rivers are clogged with plastic trash and dead fish – not only do Americans have rights to clean drinking water, (the PFAS discussion to come another day), but for this July 4^th we will celebrate that our Great Lakes, our mighty Mississippi, our wonderful bays and intertidal waterways are here for us to use and enjoy responsibly. Let’s celebrate our independence by being grateful for the park systems and the waterways protected for recreation. Our great American landscapes that are a part of our national identity. Let’s celebrate a functioning solid waste system, also a luxury if you have ever traveled to a country whose solid waste collection is nonexistent or inconsistent. Let’s hear it for laws that made it illegal to litter or dump trash or dump hazardous waste wherever anyone wanted.

Maybe you are marveling at your family. Perhaps you have many generations that have gathered. They may be blood relatives, or a chosen family, a dedicated group of friends that have sustained you as family would. Although families may comprise uniform beliefs or a wide range of philosophies, it is during these special days that we can learn from each other, laugh and share stories, and make new memories. The freedom to worship as we choose, to marry who we love, and to have the right to choose our leaders are foundational to our uniquely American culture.

Let us embrace one thing that unites us regardless of race, creed or religion. We are American. Born here or naturalized. We were blessed by the wisdom of people that saw broken autocratic systems and devised a more equitable three-way system of check and balances. Fighting for the right to self-govern, the patriots won. A war-torn scraggly set of 13 colonies banded together for the exclusive system to reject dictators, monarch and oligarchs. The executive, legislative and judicial branches should each operate to uphold democratic principles of order, respective to their domain and hold each accountable. This, coupled with the power to vote, gives every citizen a chance to make his or her choice known. Just like an ecosystem has feedback loops, when one thing is out of balance, the entire system is at risk of failing. We have a patriotic duty to be involved in policy, to help shape the laws and rules we want to live by and under. It is a foundational principle of our forefather’s design. On July 5, I will return to work, with my initiatives clear. In my American, duties to protect this place for future generations, I will use all the tools in my power to advocate for positive changes that benefit us now and will sustain future generations. I hope you will choose to honor this country by doing the same, and not be disdained by apathy or disheartened at the Goliaths that face us. Americans have always risen to a challenge, it is the cloth we are cut from.

Stay safe and have a blessed holiday. Your comments, questions or concerns are always welcome at solidwaste@gastongov.com or if you are feeling chatty, give me a call at 704-922-7729.

Becca Hurd is the recycling coordinator for Gaston County.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: YOUR TURN: Recycling can still be top of mind on the Fourth of July