As someone blogging about recycling for about 5 years on Steem and Hive, I understand what it feels like to feel like people don't care. Part of the reality is that the feed algorithm/sorting on these platforms has been pretty bad for a long time. A lot of my quality followers were earned by going to 2 conferences and by getting promoted by some good fans to whales. The search bar "feature" is also almost non-existent. I've never understood how that could be such a low priority for devs.

I think that sticking in the communities that relate will help you feel more appreciated, although the whales may not dabble too much there. If videos are fun for you, keep them up and expand your influence one person at a time. Building up your follower count will also help a lot, and that takes a lot of time, especially when prices, activity, and enthusiasm are down. Ecotrain is where I've had the most rewarding experience. Given what you do, I'd say that it's a great fit. Adjusting your tags may also help a little. Leofinance does get more attention if they boost your post there, but the essence of that community may be slightly different than your content, which does share the same spirit of course. Perhaps if you split your scrapping stuff into the doing (ecotrain) and the finances of it (Leofinance), you could get exposure in both to build more recognition.

(I don't know what I'm talking about.)