By Roxallanne Medley

So, from the same paper that branded me as not the ideal candidate for Coupeville Town Council because of my ultra-creativity, comes the amazing headline, “Whidbey Island social life at risk.” As I read Jim Larsen’s column, I became more and more amazed at what I consider to be archaic thinking.

He writes: “Our way of life is endangered” when we have to “give up those social trips to the recycling center.” Mr. Larsen could use some creative thinking.

I’m sure most of us remember the crisp days of autumn, when families gathered in their yards to rake the leaves into giant stacks, while kids worked equally hard to spread them out again as they jumped in the piles of leaves. Up and down the street, the leaves were lit and smoke billowing from crackling bonfires wafted upward into the clean, crisp air. Before long, the neighborhood was covered in a hazy pallor — but we all loved the smell and it meant autumn to us — a time for a social gathering of neighbors.

Of course, those with asthma and other respiratory problems suffered, but woe to anyone who suggested that burning might not be such a good idea. To do so would have meant destroying a “way of life.”

Then, there are all the photos in our family albums of our parents and their friends gathered for picnics and other social events — each person smoking a cigarette. Smoking was an essential part of social activities. Little did we know then that many of those smoking would die of lung cancer — my mother being one of them. It was a way of life.

Eventually, through science and education, we stopped burning leaves in the fall. Our grandparents stopped burning trash in the trash burners in their kitchens, and we learned about the hazards of smoking. No longer are diners forced to enjoy their meal in a smoke-filled room.

There is much more at risk than our social life, if we do not adopt Waste Management’s proposal for curbside recycling. The percentage of reclaimed recyclables from the conveyor belt has gone down, not up. The clear-bag system is ineffective. Few of my friends and neighbors recycle. It is time to move forward and make the choice to adopt a recycling program that works.

The least of my concerns is whether I have a “huge, ugly recycling can around the house.” My concern is for the health of this planet, the reuse of valuable resources, and adoption of a plan to minimize the amount of material that enters the waste stream. Continuing “our cherished social lives at the recycling center” is the kind of thinking that will prevent us as a county from doing our part to help control global climate change and protect our resources. Might I suggest that Mr. Larsen and those who want to socialize meet somewhere other than the recycling center — join a club, go to church, talk at the grocery store. It’s time to accept the necessity of establishing an effective recycling program.

Roxallanne Medley, a Town Council candidate in November, lives in Coupeville.