I posed a question

Today there was a bit of an issue with two cardboard display boxes thrown in the trash.  I stood there asking if he was going to leave those boxes in the trash.  Repeating that question very time there was a break in the conversation. 
"It really doesn't matter if those boxes get recycled."
"Are you going to leave those boxes in the trash?"
"There are so many people in the world that don't recycle.  Do you know the millions of pounds of recycling that goes to the land fill?"
"Are you going to leave those boxes in the trash?"
"When I was at ISU, I took a world populations class and in some countries, men would be escorted into a building and castrated."  (I didn't fact check this blog.)
"Are you going to leave those boxes in the trash?"
"As long as people are on the earth, the earth will stay ruined."
"Are you going to leave those boxes in the trash?"
I couldn't stay in the aisle, I had work to do, but I also had a mission to get those boxes out of the trash.  I cannot control a lot at work, but I can control where the boxes go that are in my department, this wasn't my department.  I am adamant about recycling what we can.  I am constantly trying to find new ways to use less.  It isn't easy in retail.  There are reports to print and notes to write.  Nearly everything comes shrink wrapped or boxed, or both.  Ask me about Garnier hair products and I will tell you about a company that wastes and removes posts from Facebook.  For every five totes of make up I receive, one of those totes is refilled with empty, little boxes.  Revlon puts one, just one, carded lip liner in each shipping box.  They send a very generic email response when one sends a very passionate one to them.  I pointed out the cost savings there is to gain by putting two in a box.  Still ships with one. 
I bring towels from home to use when shelves are cleaned.  I advise the management staff daily when a faucet drips or a toilet leaks.  I turn off lights.  I thank those that don't take a bag or bring their own bag.  I encourage the purchase of products that don't contain microbeads or sulfates.  I talk about Dr. Bonners and Shea Moisture. 
My options are limited when working for a company that wants to see the company be in the black more than be in the green.  There are a lot of greener initiatives happening company wide, but what is mandated and what actually happens are not always the same.  People have to give a damn.
I don't know if those two boxes will matter.  I doubt that those are the climate changing tipping point that we cannot return from.  But maybe they are.  Maybe those are the last two boxes that can end up in the landfill.  Maybe those are the two boxes that will allow the zombies to rise.  I don't know and I am not willing to find out.  Zombies will not rise on my cardboard box watch. 
I know that the earth is in a world of hurt.  I don't know if it can be saved but she is certainly worth fighting for.  I try to do my part but I don't come anywhere close to it.  How can recycling and turning off lights begin to repay for the flowers in the field, the ocean, the butterflies on a bush?
I do try to walk the walk.  And sometimes they realize that I am serious about the boxes in the trash and they take them out and recycle them.  Yea Earth!