Mom's First Recycling Experience

When I went home for Thanksgiving, my mom pulled me aside and with excitement in her eyes she told me, "Did you know that you can turn in bottles and they are redeemable for 5 cents?! This whole time I've just been throwing them in the bin at home! I could be getting 5 cents for them!"
"Uhh, yes," I said and added, "You can do that with cans, too..."

She explained to me that she had been saving bottles and had them clanking around in her trunk. She wanted to find a recycling center. We went to the one at the local Safeway. She pulled up and got the bags out of her trunk, but the people told her that they were full for the day. She came back to the car highly disappointed and shoved them back into the trunk. "They told me to go to 51st and Broadway! Can you believe that?! How can they be full?"

Later, my dad was driving and we were near the other drop-off center, so we told him to pull in and park nearby. We rolled up in our silver Mercedes and he didn't park in a space. Instead, my dad pulled RIGHT up to block the recycling drop-off center. My mom got out and unloaded the Ann Taylor bags filled with bottles. Meanwhile, a bum strolled up with his shopping cart full of cans and started sorting them. My mom recieved help from the attendant who sorted and weighed her bottles, then gave her some bills.

I was appalled that she didn't give the pocket change to the guy next to her, who clearly needed some financial assitance. Instead, she popped back in the car and announced: "I got $2.50 for that!"

As soon as the initial elation wore off, she realized, "I don't think that the $2.50 was worth the gas it took to get here..."