Trails and trash

Since moving back to my hometown more than two years ago, the town has made significant strides in two areas I really appreciate: the development of a greenway trail system and a vastly improved recycling program.

First, the greenway system. Of course, the local golf courses have always been ideal for scenic peaceful runs, but their other occupants (the golfers) tend to be pretty territorial. I prefer dirt to concrete anyway, so I have been thrilled with the recent emphasis on expanding the greenways.

There are miles of trails through parks, subdivisions and our picturesque village center. Yes, that sounds like bad Chamber of Commerce copy. But seriously. Most of the sections are connected by low- and slow-traffic streets, and those that aren't have been made pedestrian-friendly with crosswalks and traffic signals. Future expansion is ongoing, including a trail all the way through the neighborhood where Matt and I are about to start building.

Recycling: Our town's recycling situation has always left much to be desired. Until two weeks ago, the list of acceptable materials (newspapers, magazines, aluminum cans) was much shorter than the list of materials that can be recycled. Each of these had to be individually bundled, and pickup was only once every two weeks.

So I always ended up loading the recycling into my car and dropping it off at another town's recycling spot on my way to work. (Even there, by the way, there was no glass allowed. Is that not crazy?) But now our town has announced major changes: We can recycle everything from cereal boxes to plastics 1 through 7 to junk mail. Best of all, it doesn't have to be sorted!