Adventures in Recycling

Today was a different day, which perhaps is just how I like it.

I started by bringing down from the farm two pieces of construction bamboo - guadua angustifolia - for some friends at the place where I park the Nissan. They needed it urgently to fix up one of the roofs where some cars are parked, and I was happy to help.

Then I went down to the warehouse and loaded up some aluminium, and started heading down to Padilla.

I like driving, and I seem to do it in a more relaxed fashion than other Colombians, who always seem to be in such an immense hurry to get anywhere.

Finally I made it to the aluminum foundry.

They have been in business 3 years here, a regional center for transforming scrap into almost pristine aluminium ingots. They shared with me this picture of their last founding.

It was very interesting to talk to them and they even offered me a job helping to find clients for their final product in the United States or elsewhere. Anyone have any tips for me? We can split the commission.

So we weighed all my aluminium by type and then they started pulling out their garbage, part of the deal that goes both ways.

In the end it took 8 of us to get this 230kg sack of not-aluminum metal into the car. I thought that was it but it wasn't, we did get it all in in the end though.

As I drove back slowly and carefully, and thought back over the day, it was something special, a bit out of the ordinary, many people looked at me funny - look at that, a gringo trash man.

My wife warned me not to damage the faux-leather seats, and I didn't, so I guess it was a good day in more ways than one. I'm living the American Dream, down here in Colombia, South America.

Freedom and Friendship