Why recycle?

I am not feeling to well today so I have been relaxing on the sofa. Laying here on my own (Colin has gone out to buy a new cooker) I began to reflect on my life and thinking about how I have got to where I am, living in Spain, growing my own fruit and veg and caring for my three dogs, cats and five chickens. I suppose during my childhood I was influenced by my parents particularly my father who I recall had chickens, grew veg and worked on farms plucking chicken and turkeys. We always had pets particularly dogs.
At the age of seventeen I began working with abused children and had a long career, until the age of fifty, working as a social worker and a Guardian for the Courts in London. Today social workers don't have a particularly positive image but from experience I can say that it is a very difficult job that is full of heartache and worry. Anyway that is perhaps for another blog.
Whilst sitting here I began to think about the planet and how now I am trying my hardest to be eco friendly. I also am a distributors for a company called Wikaniko that sells ecologically friendly products.
Thinking back to when I was younger  we rarely talked about saving the planet or being eco friendly and in many ways thought that people who discussed such things were hippies not living in the real world. As a working class lass I believed that many of these people were from rich families, didn't need to work and had nothing better to do with their time. How wrong could I be, well maybe some were.
More recently I have to come to realise that our planet is being damaged and that whilst Governments need to take action we as individuals can also make a difference.
Today I am much more aware of what I am putting in my rubbish bins and ask myself whether I can make use of it in another way. When throwing clothes away I now don't put them in the bin but  think about giving them to a charity shop, use them as rags for the garage and so on. If I can compost anything I will and it is really rewarding to see the end product that I can put on my garden.
Since working for Wikaniko I have given much more thought to packaging and what chemical are in products and where possible try and find an alternative. I hadn't realised that a lot of the money that we spend on a product goes on the packaging which is then thrown away.
I have found a lot of information on the net about recycling and there are many organisations and individuals that are using their imaginations to recycle all sorts of goods.
In many respects I have lived a good life and I really want future generations to lead a happy life without worry about climate change and pollution so I will continue to do my little bit and hope to encourage others to do the same.