That Moment of Recycling Indecision

We got an email from David Spencer in Portland, Oregon, who writes,

In super green, sustainable, renewable Portland, I’ve been observing a new behavior that needs a name.

Many cafeterias and fast food establishments now request that you sort your refuse into one of several containers, including items destined for landfill, recycling, or composting.

Often there’s a chart or a diagram explaining which items go where.

There’s a characteristic pause and look of befuddlement as people hold their discards and try to figure out which bin to use.

That look of puzzlement needs a name.

I know that feeling.

When you’re sorting your own rubbish between two different kinds of recycling and the trash.

Yes, and do the bottles go here or does the paper go there or what?

I just had this very experience in Portland.

Anyway, David suggests that these individuals look discomposted.

Discomposted.

Discomposted.

Sort of like discombobulated but combining compost with it.

Compost, yeah.

Yeah, I like that.

Discomposted.

I’ve been there myself.

I know that feeling, particularly when you still have liquid left in something.

And like your paper cup, I could recycle it, but there’s no place for me to pour the liquid.

So do I just pour it on top of the trash and then recycle the cup?

How does that work?

That’s a good question.

Like if you’re in the coffee shop and they don’t give you enough room for cream.

Oh, you have to pour some off the top, right?

And there’s no basin to catch it, no tray.

Well, or there’s a garbage bag that somebody’s got to empty, and what if it gets poked, you know?

Right, and it reminds me of the way they would empty the trash cans in the subway of New York City where they just drag it down the platform, and you can see that smear for weeks.

Oh, God.

What are you thinking about in terms of language?

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