Recycling experience raises covid-19 worries
Is a pound of cardboard worth more than your life?
My husband, Rick, and I are seniors who live in Bella Vista. We are concerned about covid-19 and wear protective clothing and social distance when we go out. Rick went to the Bella Vista Recycle Facility recently to take our recyclables in. He was the only one there wearing a mask. One of the recycling volunteers who was smoking got very close to him and Rick asked him to social distance. The man did not and actually blew smoke in his face and laughed at him.
When my husband got home we decided to report this to the governing authority due to the danger to the public. We called the chairman of the board of directors of the recycle facility. Rick told him about the incident, and the man said they did not have to obey any rules to distance or wear a mask; he basically does not care.
We have called the governor's office, emailed the Department of Environmental Quality, gone to see the mayor, contacted Benton County Waste Management, called the covid-19 hotline and now contacted the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management to try to get our local recycle center to comply with the rules put forth by the Centers for Disease Control to wear protective masks and social distance. The covid-19 hotline did contact the Arkansas Health Department, which called us back and said they will contact the Recycle Center. The Arkansas Attorney General's Office also called us back and they will be turning it over to their legal department. Will anything be done? Time will tell. We do want to recycle, but not endanger our health doing it. Do you?
It seems like every day that we, our family or friends who are trying to protect ourselves and go out into the public are confronted by belligerent people not wearing masks or social distancing who think they are smarter than the CDC. The recycle center in Bella Vista is one small example of what is going on across America and especially in Arkansas. We are in a battle just to try and stay safe, but due to the political indifference of those that don't agree with the real science, our lives are in jeopardy and so is yours.
Margi Tucker
Bella Vista