Ok, so I haven't reduced or reused anything today. But I did recycle!!Every three months or so, we receive a couple of recycling bags in our mailbox - one for shoes, and one for clothes. I love it! It's easy, free of hassle, and the frequency of pickups encourages us to go through our wardrobes on a regular basis. I go through my wardrobes, pick out a few things I no longer want, throw them in the bag, and VOILA! Out they go to the curb on the designated day. TODAY was that day.
Mrs. TBF is pretty good about it too. At first, it was like pulling teeth to get her to go through her wardrobes. But now, she just kind of snarls a little bit and then gets it over with.
I like recycling here. It's not quite as easy as it was in Chicago where we could just put everything in one container, drag it out to the curb once per week, and that was that. Instead, we have to bring our plastic bottles, batteries, light bulbs, and Brita filters (you read that correctly) back to the grocery store. But that's really not a problem. Bottles and cans have to be brought to community recycling bins, but that's not really a problem either (for us at least) because there is a recycling area right in front of our building. Bundled newspapers and cardboard are set out on the curb and picked up once per month, and there are also regularly schedules pickup days for larger household items, metal items, and garden waste - just about everything. In fact, as is evidenced by the large list/schedule we receive from the town hall at the start of the year, it seems like just about everything can be recycled here in Switzerland.
Here are some of the things, with instructions regarding where/when/how:
medicine, used motor and cooking oil, electrical appliances, refrigerators, wine corks, stones and construction waste, mirrors and windows, tree stumps, kitty litter sand, and last but not least...
ANIMAL CADAVERS (at the main municipal services area on Monday from 13:30 - 17:00, and on Fridays from 13:30 to 16:00!).
The municipal services area is about a three minute walk from our apartment. Ummm... remind me to avoid it on Monday and Friday afternoons - especially Friday afternoons!
That would really put a damper on my Friday evening T.G.I.F. cocktail!!
3 comments:
They don't like doing recycling here as I've heard they eventually send it off to China...
Do you know how stuff is recycled afterwards? Really, I'd love for you to find out and tell us... I know here things are gone through by humans first, but I don't know where it goes after it's sorted.
ET - I'm going to have to say that how the stuff is recycled falls into the don't know/don't care file for me. I just put it where it's supposed to go, and then it's up to somebody else to worry about what happens to it after that.
Ah, Swiss recycling... one of our favorite things about living here. Now is that a good or a bad thing? :) liz
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