It is so good to be back at Ataraxia after the hectic pace of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training with Al Gore in Chicago. 

Today is Sunday and I just returned from the Coventry Farmer's Market. "Wooo hooo…we’ve been cited as New England’s BEST farmers’ market byYankeee Magazine AND selected as one of USA Today’s “Top 10 great places to shop at a farmers market!” reads their home page.

It is my favorite week, "Dog days" where I get to pet every breed of dog imaginable, big and small, old and young and visit with my friends at Sadie Mae Foundation. I have already posted pictures on Facebook. Some of my friends in the climate change movement have already seen them, and if you look back in the archives you will see that I have written about it before.

After doing the rounds at least twice, I was getting hungry. While walking between the many booths selling local, organic food masterpieces I noticed a glaring oversight. Trash bins filled with mixed trash and NO recycling receptacles. I headed straight to the market's administrative/souvenir table to suggest a change, and was given the impression that the Nathan Hale Homestead, on who's ground the event is held, was the problem. Well, I know the administration and staff of the homestead well so I marched up to their office and spoke with the site administrator, Bev York. Apparently, they have been trying to get the farmer's market people to do the right thing for years. This season, they started to do what they could themselves. "The Hale Homestead Youth program called The Young Friends of Hale are recycling cans and bottles starting the season of 2013" said Bev.

OK, I'm getting a bit angry now. Those who know me also know how far I will go to find the truth and make things right. I march back to the market's table. Apparently I got the wrong impression, they say. I pointed out their responsibility to do what is right. They blamed the company that handles their trash at the event. I pointed out that they could change trash companies. By now they were becoming angry at me? I walked away steaming and here I am with my metaphysical brick. I looked up Connecticut's recycling laws (apparently they didn't, and I am giving them the benefit of the doubt here). Not only are they not "doing the right thing", they are breaking the law in order to "not do the right thing. Here is the link: Recycling...It's the Law!

I still support my local farmers and craftspeople. I will continue to return to the market every Sunday. Next week I expect to see recycling receptacles provided by the market, not the homestead. If you generate the trash, it is your responsibility!!! If there are none, put your cans and bottles in the homestead's recepticles and hand over every other recyclable, but non-returnable, item to someone at the market's table. Tell them I sent you.