When somebody did something very well, my mom said, “They did it up brown.” At the time I didn’t know where the phrase came from, but I now suspect it had cooking roots.

Anyway, The Villages, announced a trash recycling program that they’ve been working on for three years. Three years, you say? This required careful coordination with several trash companies and two of the three affected local county governments. They have also coordinated with local merchants like Publix, Wal-Mart, Lowes, Ace Hardware, and Home Depot, to make sure there will be enough supply of the required trash bags. ¹That they’ve all sold out is not The Villages fault

Here’s the plan:Homeowners collect recyclables into 13 gallon clear drawstring trash bags. Pretty much everything that is recyclable is eligible: plastic, newspaper, magazines, phone books, aluminum and steel cans, glass, etc. (See the reprint on the left) Then they leave the recycling bags at curbside on one of the two “trash pickup days” each week. Simple as that. No sorting. On top of that it’s only $1.47 per month added to the trash bill and the first month, March, is free.

Some folks are complaining about the $1.47 and that the system’s too complex. I guess there’s no pleasing some folks. For me, it’s a painless way to be a little bit green…and do it up brown.