Recycling is illegal.

Hello, I would like to mail this letter.
To where?
To the United States.
You can’t mail that.
Why not?
It’s not addressed right.
What do you mean?
It has to be addressed like this. (points to a display of an envelope addressed correctly.)
But it is addressed like that.
No it’s not. One address has to go here, in the center, and another address in the upper left corner.
But that’s exactly how it is. The address it’s going to is in the center, and the return address is in the upper left corner.
But it doesn’t have a red and blue border, like the display.
That’s because envelopes are different.  I don’t need to have a red and blue border on my envelope to mail a letter.
Well, you still can’t mail it.
But I don’t understand.
Also, it’s wrapped in recycled paper.
Yes. I made the envelope myself. It’s a nice envelope and it almost looks like I bought it.
It can’t be mailed.
But why not? I don’t understand.
It’s illegal to use recycled paper to mail things in Ecuador.
But it’s good to recycle. It’s good to reuse things and help save the environment.
Maybe, but it’s still illegal. You have to buy an envelope.
Fine. I will buy an envelope. Where do I go to do that.
Right here. I have envelopes.
How much?
25 cents.
Okay, fine. (I buy the envelope and put my letter in it.)
Now, make sure you address it right. Like this. (points to the display again.)
Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.

*Today, I went to the same post office to mail a package wrapped in a re-used brown paper bag. It looked really good.  (Don’t doubt my envelope making or package wrapping skills.) The same man told me it was illegal to mail it wrapped in that. So I went to a different post office and mailed it, without any problem whatsoever.

~ by number3263 on October 25, 2007.