i respect the work ethic necessary to collect enough bottles worth only 5 cents each to total enough money to supplement a meagre income. i admire the tenacity of some folks who make it out every single recycling eve in whatever weather to pluck the valuables from the waste.
what i don't respect and admire and what is going to make me go ballistic someday is how they "steal" my bottles from my backyard. once they're on the street, they're up for grabs. when the back is only 1/4 full (and half of that is opened tins. not returnables), it's not free for the taking! my apartment is very small and i can't keep the bag inside until it fills up. afraid of being busted for trespassing, no doubt they take the whole bag rather than pick out what they want out of it and leave the rest. the whole environment angle is gone the instant you greedy, impatient fuckwads make me burn through 12 blue bags in a month. that's a lot of plastic. and seriously... how many of you bottle collectors would appreciate finding a complete stranger rummaging through your shit on your backyard deck after dark? in the middle of asking one collector to please respect my space, he kept repeating defensively "i ain't stealing it!". hello? did you have to come onto someone else's private proerty to get your hands on it? is it yours? were you about to walk away with something that doesn't belong to you without permission? i think you'd call it stealing if it was happening at your place to your stuff. i think a judge would too. i don't give a shit how hard your life is. learn to respect other people's shit and space. anyone who bothers to knock on my door and ask nicely gets ALL my returnables. to anyone else who wants my bottles: wait til they're put out on the street, then help yourself.
i've tried being nice. that didn't work. i've tried being firm that didn't work either. i'm moving onto total asshole. if i see you in my backyard, i'm not warning you again. i'm calling the cops to report a burglar, and then i'm going to follow you if you manage to leave before the cops arrive and give them your location.
---grrr