January 24 • 2019 5 jn W hat’ s the difference between a national park during the government shutdown and a dresser drawer filled with rows of meticulously roll-folded T-shirts? One is a picture of human fallibility, the precarious nature of our social contract, the conspicuous con- sumption of disposable goods and the nega- tive consequences of under-regulation and over-production. The other is probably out of toilet paper. These interrelated images from these first weeks of 2019 — spritely Marie Kondo bringing her popular joy-through-tidying method to untold American households through Netflix and litter-laden national parks — are a Rorschach test for how narrowly or broadly we view our relationships with and impact on the environment around us. Is it disconcerting to see a scenic vista with paper goods and plasticware flowing out of a garbage can like so much molten lava? Spork yeah, it is. And are my T-shirts now folded and arranged so the prints smile up at me each morning? They don’ t call me World’ s Best Grandpa for nothing. But like an invasive species in a deli- cate ecosystem, more than 100 million pounds of waste still materialize in our national parks annually, even when federal park employees are there to ferry it away at regular intervals. And to get to Kondo-caliber tidiness, most of us have to shed a mound/mountain of shirts that just might get a new lease of life as paint- ers’ rags (50-lb. box, $42.50 from ERC Wiping Products … “We make wiping easy!”) and that create a vacuum beg- ging to be filled by the next round of joy-inducing fan gear and fast fashion. It’ s abundantly clear that we can’ t rely on our current crop of elected officials and CEOs to make any kind of strategic, sustainable decisions up river. Which makes it incumbent upon us to do whatever we can to manage and mitigate what flows downstream. We can’ t just ask ourselves of an object, “Does it spark joy?” We need to struggle with whether it causes others pain, even if the sweatshop, slaughter- house, refinery, landfill or incinerator is not in our backyard — or on our continent. The struggle is real. I’ m struggling. The struggle of trading disposability for durability, the struggle of carpool- ing, the struggle of how delicious meat is. But there’ s strength in the struggle. I’ m not suggesting that we all become hemp-clad vegan wind turbines. We live in a consumer-driven economy with many varieties of Oreo and our ancestors labored day in and day out with only one variety of Oreo so we could have a better life. In the struggle, there’ s a striving to innovate. Consider StockX. If you don’ t traffic in sought-after sneakers, streetwear, watches or handbags, you may not be familiar with the Detroit- based “Stock Market of Things.” It has catapulted to global repute by confi- dently connecting the supply of and demand for niche products. Like StockX, our problem begins where the market ends. The price I pay for gas includes taxes for road maintenance (theoretically), but not for inhalers for asthmatic children in Southwest Detroit. Nor is the environ- mental impact of my Styrofoam cup imputed into the price Dart charges Tropical Smoothie Cafe or what they charge me. Enter SchlockX. SchlockX.com is not an evironmonumental cli- mate-change-changing killer app. At least not yet. To start, maybe it can be a space where people like us, who care about the environment — but some- times want to order via the app rather than bring our reusable cup to every newly opened Tropical Smoothie Cafe — can come together to deal with our schlock … SOCRRA, South Oakland County’ s recycling center, is my Graceland — much like the fair’ s detritus is a veritable smorgas- bord-orgasbord-orgasbord for Templeton in my favorite and the most important scene of Charlotte’ s Web. SOCRRA rocks. Nationally, con- tamination sends an average of 25 percent of single-stream recycling contents to the landfill; SOCRRA’ s goal is 5 percent. And they have a whimsical app, Waste Wizard, who will let you know with the wave of his wand, what is recyclable and how: socrra.org/waste-wizard. There is a physical and psycho- logical distance between the ease of carting your recyclables to the curb and the effort of getting yourself and your stuff to your local drop-off cen- ter. But even a beautiful, brimming bin misses out on some important ecopportunities. SOCRRA, along with most materi- als recovery facilities (MRFs!), can’ t process Styrofoam, plastic bags or scrap metal on the same conveyor belts as all our boxes, bottles, etc. Enter SchlockX so we can have our smoothies and drink them, too. Here’ s my very real offer: I will schlep your schlock. Fill out the form on the very real website and I will come to your house, pick up whatever the Waste Wizard says can be dropped off at the center and truck it to Troy. No charge, though I accept virtually all varieties of Oreo. Here’ s the very reasonable catch: We need a critical mass of Schlock Blockers to make this sustainable, so recruit some neighbors to get in on the action. Shimmy to schlockX.com and let’ s spark some joy in this untidy world. ■ views jewfro SchlockX Ben Falik My Story My Story Click. Call. Give Now. www.hfldetroit.org • 248.723.8184 Hebrew Free Loan Detroit 6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 • Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301 @HFLDetroit Hebrew Free Loan entered Joel Hechler’s life through word of mouth from friends. “Where I lived a few years ago, the neighbors regularly socialized with each other,” Joel said, “and we remained friends even as our families grew and we moved away. So when I heard about HFL from two of those friends, who were then active members of the agency’s Board, it had my attention. I have a background in accounting, and I really liked the idea of helping people get back on track.” Joel looked into HFL, made donations and eventually joined the agency’s Board. “I find this so fulfilling,” Joel said, “and I enjoy leveraging my financial acumen to directly help people. I say directly because I’m working with a team of really dedicated Board members to help people we actually meet. This isn’t in the abstract, it’s our community.” Joel also appreciates that HFL has loan funds and programs for so many needs. “We are really adaptive, looking at community trends, and helping people where they are. I’m part of the Marvin I. Danto Small Business Loan Program review team, and I truly enjoy watching the entrepreneurial spirit flourish, and helping people live their dreams. We really are looking out for one another. “I want people to know what a caring, empathetic, positive agency HFL truly is. And you know, there’s also a rebound for me. I enjoy helping others, and the experience has a profound positive effect on my life as well.” Community donations help HFL give interest-free loans to local Jews for a variety of personal, health, educational and small business needs.