Did I just witness an act of kindness?
By The Horse
@TheHorse (221061)
Walnut Creek, California
January 7, 2025 11:46am CST
As I was heading off to the store, I saw Sheila, our land lord lady, talking to a very old woman who was pushing a grocery cart loaded with large green trash bags. I figured they were full of aluminum cans. They were on th sidewalk, just to the right (from my perspective) of the driveway.
Sheila is African-American, probably in her 70s, and the older woman looked to be Asian and about 90-years-old. Seeing Asian elders collecting aluminum cans is not uncommon here in the Bay Area.
I waved at Sheila and she waved back at me. As Sheila and the older lady parted, I saw Sheila put her hand gently on the older woman's shoulder .
I'll have to ask Sheila later what they were talking about. .
I've had friends who were snippy about older folks collecting aluminum cans, saying that the cans should be recycled "through proper channels." I am not sure what their reasoning is.
My softball buddies and I would put our empties all in one place after our games, so they could be easily harvest by the old folks who swept through after the lights went out.
What are your thoughts?
11 people like this
10 responses
@akalinus (43579)
• United States
7 Jan
I give them credit. Collecting cans for money is hard work. If they are willing to do it, I give them all the credit. I have saved cans for certain people in our park who needed extra money.
Most seniors don't get enough to live on and almost everybody does some kind of work to make ends meet. I cleaned a church for years.
Be kind to other folks. It always comes back to you.
5 people like this
@kaylachan (72956)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Jan
You could have. I think the concern isn't so much the act, but the condition the cans might be in. I used to smash them with my foot before recycling, and George used to crush cans, too.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (72956)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Jan
@TheHorse It does, but it also creates jagged edges that otherwise wouldn't exist. Then people find those cans and could get cut.
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (47889)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
7 Jan
And just what are the "proper channels"?
2 people like this
@much2say (56634)
• Los Angeles, California
7 Jan
Someone I knew had a fit about people going through the blue bins here (for recyclables). They said for one, it's illegal - two, the city loses out on money for it - and three, they leave a mess. So maybe your friends meant something along those lines?
People with bags and carts go through our bins. And they don't leave a mess. I don't think of it as stealing . . . I could have very well packaged it up so someone could take them easily. If they need the money, then go for it - cuz I certainly didn't take the time to take care of it.
I have heard it is folks like this who are actually doing our planet a favor and keeping our streets cleaner. I don't really know what happens after the trucks take our recyclables away.
2 people like this
@tkonlinevn (6451)
• Vietnam
23h
Why bother with aluminum can collectors?
Old people are usually thrifty. Moreover, it helps them earn a little money, for them, it is fun.
I often collect recyclable materials and give them to a neighbor lady. She is very happy and so am I :)
1 person likes this
@tkonlinevn (6451)
• Vietnam
21h
@TheHorse I know. I'm talking about some of your friends whom you mentioned on your discussion.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (221061)
• Walnut Creek, California
10h
@tkonlinevn Yeah. I think those friends are making much ado about nothing.
@FourWalls (69705)
• United States
7 Jan
I hope you did! My next door neighbor collects his aluminum cans for me so I can take them to the no-kill animal shelter.
As for the “proper channels” stuff, people who say that can blow it out their back side. 
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (138417)
• United States
7 Jan
I don't see a problem with anyone who wants them collecting them where ever they find them. Pretty sets her empty aluminum cans on the kitchen counter after rinsing them out. When I'm in the kitchen later, I crush them and put them into a trash bag in the corner of the kitchen. Once a year we take them to be recycled.
Sometimes, as we're walking to or from our doctor's office, Pretty will pick an aluminum can off the ground where it was tossed out of a passing vehicle. *shrug*
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (109188)
• Marion, Ohio
7 Jan
I don't care who collects them. They end the same place.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (81331)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Jan
I am glad that there are people who have tolerance and understanding for such people,
1 person likes this
