My mother is a school teacher. They have two bins, trash, and the blue recycling bin. At the end of the day, the janitor would just tip the recycling bins into their trash bucket. Everyone knew that.

This isn't the same as where I live and work now. We have extensive recycling programs.

It's hard to do anything good for the community in places that are so individualistic. If it helps someone other than them, even if it ALSO helps them, it's something to be avoided. "A rising tide lifts all boats" doesn't make sense to them because the only important thing is that their boat is lifted higher. They legitimately just do not care about others