Recyling

is HUGE here!!

First let me say that our trash bins for curbside collection are smaller than our recyle bins were in Virginia. And trash is picked up every TWO weeks! Some places have separate trash and biological (aka compost) pick ups--not our housing area yet.

The two other types of waste picked up at our house are paper (the recyle bin for paper is green and about the size of the curbside recycle bin in Virginia) and plastics (which are to be put in a special yellow bag--no limit on bags) and these are collected once a month.

Other things that are recycled are glass, metal and used clothing/shoes still in good condition. These are not picked up at the house, however each town has at least one recycling center where these items can be sorted and dropped off.

Let me try to specify the recycling:

Paper--include newspapers, magazines, illustrations, books, catalogs, flyers, writing papers, school papers, wrapping paper, toilet paper tubes, cartons, boxes, corrugated cardboard, envelopes, brown paper bags, etc

Plastic--includes plastic bags, plastic tubes, plastic bottles, detergent and cleaning bottles, lotion containers, yogurt and butter containers, containers from fruit and milk products, juice cartons, milk cartons, beverage cup lids, burger/salad/sandwiche boxes, chip bags, candy wrappers, beverage cartons, ice cream boxes, wax paper, styrofoam, etc

Glass--self explanitory--need to be separated into brown glass, green glass, and white or multicolored glass and placed in the appropriate bin at the recycle places.

Metal--soda cans, soup cans, cookie tins, metal lift tops, aluminum foil, bottle tops, coffee cans,

Some recycle centers collect "valuable substances". The one in our town is open for 1 1/2 hrs on Saturdays to receive bulky refuse, electronic waste, CDs, DVDs, ink and toner cartidges, waste wood, expired medicine, batteries, windows, flat glass, mirrors, light blubs, edible grease/oil, grass, garden waste, and leaves

At recycling centers, where you put the glass and metal in the bins, you are not to use them on Sundays or holidays because of the noise it makes tossing these items into the bins..

So in our house, we have a bag stand to hold the special bags for plastic trash and under the kitchen sink we have a bin for trash and paper. In the downstairs bathroom we have a collection point for metal and glass (since Daddy will probably take these on post to recycle and also since they are our slower growing piles). And by our shoes in the open coat closet we have a collection point for soda bottles and such that can be turned in for a refund. Most of the grocery stores have a little machine where you can take your refundable bottles to get your money back.

While it is still a learning process, we are learning to recycle. I understand from others around here that when we go back stateside to visit or at the end of our tour here, we will feel very wasteful when the majority of things just go into the trash.