Aesthetic refuse

Salamanca, Spain, is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. My personal favorite travel guide, “Spain for Dummies,” raves that it is “gracious and beautiful” and “one of Spain’s loveliest and most enjoyable cities,” while an online travel site from the U.K. calls it “a city that is enviable.” Euroresidentes.com even says, “It seems to breathe art, culture and knowledge.”\nTruthfully, it is just as aesthetically amazing as everyone told me it would be. Still, when I arrived here, I noticed something I hadn’t expected. Standing on the sidewalk of pretty much every street in the city were mysteriously huge, blob-like containers. Many of the containers were taller than me, about as round as a tree in an old-growth forest and colored bright shades of green, yellow and blue. But in taking a closer look at them, I was astonished when I figured out what they were. Much to my surprise, these small mountains were actually recycling bins. \nIn the United States, I have heard many businesses and homeowners claim that they don’t recycle because recycling bins are simply too ugly to stand next to their houses and commercial buildings. Of course, there are other reasons that people claim for failing to recycle, but this one has always seemed the most nonsensical to me. \nWe Americans may have convinced ourselves that our neighborhoods are too classy for recycling bins, but when it comes to class, I’m pretty sure that Salamanca has more of it than just about anywhere in the United States. The residents here don’t seem to mind the containers, and I have not read a single travel guide that mentions atrociously colored, globular recycling bins. Apparently it doesn’t detract from the landscape here, and it certainly didn’t keep the travel guides from raving about it. \nSo what’s our excuse for giving recycling the cold shoulder in the States? Do we honestly fear for the architectural and scenic integrity of our cities and towns, or is it more a case of inconvenience or reluctance to pay? Besides, recycling bins don’t have to be aesthetically distasteful. In fact, they come in pretty much every shape and color. For example, in the oldest parts of town here, trash receptacles and recycling bins are much less blatant and fit with the visual details of a campus that was constructed in the 1200s. And what do we have in the United States? Looking around, it is much easier to see a Starbucks, a Kentucky Fried Chicken or a Wal-Mart than anything natural or of historical and artistic significance. As far as recycling goes, there are legitimate concerns and talking points, including high costs and the lack of a market for recyclables. However, aesthetic appeal is not one of them. Arguing against a process that preserves our limited base of resources and diverts pollution from our water, land and atmosphere simply requires a better excuse than that.