When is garbage garbage?

I can't believe someone put a very nice looking plant in the apt. complex dumpster, instead of leaving it off to the side where someone could re-home it without having to pick it out of the trash.

Of course, this plant may have had a less painful, quicker death at the hands of the garbage system compared to my slow, tortuous, and feeble attempts to keep it living.

I also don't understand my fellow residents who have a difficult time understanding how to use the huge recycle dumpster which is conveniently located right next to the one for trash -- it bugs me when I see items that are so obvious and easy to recycle being thrown into the trash. And I totally see that I shouldn't be on a high horse as I know there are many steps I could take to reduce my environmental impact, but I choose to ignore my own behavior and criticize these unknown strangers.