consumption in cleveland: (CONTEST ALERT!)

As my Master Cleanse has come to an end, I have been jamming food into my gullet like it's going out of style.  First I went to Trader Joe's and stocked up on a bunch of yummy food, including my new obsession: cherry granola cookies (they are amazing!).  This morning I hit The Market for some oranges, avocados, limes, cilantro and jalapenos juice and guacamole.  I went inside for a hot tea (my allergies are going crazy and herbal tea w/lemon seems to do the trick) and I passed Michelle's Bakery just as the woman behind the counter was putting a sign in the case that read: Sweet Potato Buttermilk Scones.  Um, what? I came to a screeching halt and ordered one.  Probably not the smartest choice of breakfast food for an empty, shrunken stomach, but I didn't care it was so delicious! I realized that even though I'd just spent 10 days worth of time and energy cleansing my body I was getting a little over zealous with initial consumption.  During the cleanse I spent a great deal of time thinking about what it is useful and what is wasteful.  

I have to say that Cleveland is a very wasteful city.  From new real estate being built while hundreds of structures sit vacant and unused to the fact that there isn't an established recycling pick up program (at least in my 'hood).  That really makes me mad.  The simplest way to cut down on consumption is to recycle.  For the past 2 years I have acted as "Recycling Ambassador" for the "compound" (what we call the duplex in which I live), which means that every two weeks i fill my trunk with all of our collected recyclables and shlep them over to the recycling bin behind The Harp.  Sadly, every time I go, the bin is never full.  This means people aren't doing their part (I can tell by the amount of bottles and cans that end up on my tree lawn) to do what is right.  If you don't know already, there are bins located around the city exclusively for recycling.  Here is a list of bins in and around the city.  Also, check out Eco City Cleveland for more recycling info.

 Check out my bin. GRRRRRrrrrrrrowwww!

Do you recycle? Do you have any cool way of reusing something in an inventive way? I'm always looking for more ways to be more eco friendly. Share you're reusable habit in the comments and whomever has the most neat-o idea will receive a kick-ass, recycled bicycle tube bracelet made by yours truly.