Occurrence At Meijer's On Earth Day

​    This morning I happened to go to Meijer's, our local supermarket/department store,

...for my COVID shot and to do a little shopping.
       At the store entrance an employee was handing out Earth Day reusable shopping bags, which I thought was a very nice and appropriate thing to be doing on this Earth Day.
        I accepted my reusable Meijer Earth Day bag and set it in my cart along with the other reusable shopping bags that I had brought with me.

          I got my COVID shot, then afterwards while strolling through the store I passed the clearance rack in the women's clothing section where I found this cute shirt,

...which I decided to buy.
         I checked out at the self-check, and after I scanned my shirt I removed the plastic and metal hangar and walked over to the self-check assistance lady to give her the hanger, which I didn't want or need, for the store  to reuse. 
         "Oh, if you don't want that hangar just throw it in the trash," said the assistance lady.
          "What?" I said, "I should...throw it into the trash?"
         "Yeah, go ahead and throw it in that trash can right there," said the lady. "We don't want it."
         I stood momentarily flummoxed, hangar in hand. Then I tossed the hangar into one of my earth-friendly reusable shopping bags.     

             I took the hangar home where it now hangs in my closet supporting my new shirt along side the  other hangars that support all my other clothes.

             I fear that that from now on I will have to take home every plastic and metal hangar from every piece of clothing I ever buy again, lest I leave it at the store from whence it will end up tossed upon the ever-growing planetary landfill.

         Then, after I've crossed over the rainbow bridge, my environmentally-conscious children will have to take all the plastic and metal store hangars stuffed into my closet and stuff them into their closets, just as some day their children will have to stuff them into theirs, and their children into theirs, per omnia secula seculorum.
           Happy Earth Day, everyone.