My Authorities on Garbage

Wherever I am, I follow the example and instructions of those in authority over me. This is especially true in regard to my position on garbage and recycling. My parents, with whom I am still living, allow us to trash almost everything, including metal cans that cannot be washed out easily. When I am at home, I follow their example and send most of my gargage to the incinerator to be turned into eletricity. My boss at Western Technical College, on the other hand, is a member of the recycling initiative, which has made recycling easy at Western by bringing in tall, white boxes in which to stow recyclables. At work, therefore, I recycle papers, plastics, and metal. I also help the other workers recycle by shredding their confidential papers and putting the shreds out for recycling instead of incinerating the papers. The different viewpoints of my parents and my boss are diametrically opposed, and have left me unsure of what position I should take on garbage. Since our garbage is burned for energy, and the power plant separates out non-flammable recyclables, isn't it all right to throw away just about everything, as my parents think? But if it's possible t do more than what is merely expedient, and to truly recycle as my boss does, then why would I not do my very best to care for the environment? I could research recycling plants in the area. I could even get my parents and sisters involved, and make recycling a homeschooling project. I think I will do so, and thus be able to respectfully obey the authorities over me and still think for myself.