Recycling and helping poor people at the same time

For some reason, my building does not have recycling. Only seven or eight people live in the building, but still, it's surprising and disappointing.

Today as I was leaving, I noticed a disheveled man pushing a shopping cart laden with bottles, cans and plastic bags full of plastic bottles. I asked him if he was looking for items to recycle, and he said he was: Anything metal, glass or plastic. Dan and I had been saving all of our recycling for the last two months, so we actually have bags and bags of it! He was thrilled, and now we're going to leave our recycling out for him.

For those places with no recycling, this could be a wonderful solution. Many states pay some refund for returned recyclables. And many people are hurting in this economy. Someone in or near your neighborhood may be looking to find recyclables, whether they're a neighbor or homeless. Track them down. Help them out. These days, every penny counts for a lot of people, and recycling can help us all.