It's Illegal NOT to Recycle

...In Germany

from JoeUser Forums
In the USA people consider recycling a good idea for the most part. But many people who, even if they are ecologically-conscious, feel it’s rather inconvenient to go out of their way separating the trash, and then haul it to a designated pick-up point.

I was among those who felt it was a pain in the neck to separate things and make a separate trip to a recycling depository. I never gave it much thought other than, “What a shame that I’m throwing this away. It could be recycled.” Then I’d throw away whatever it was without another thought…until the next incidence.

Recycling is the law in Germany. I have a friend (who, albeit, is known for stretching / skewing the truth sometimes) who told me that the German trash picker-uppers went through her trash to see who was throwing away recyclables, and they identified her and set her straight. (She must’ve thrown away a bill or something, if she didn’t make that story up.)

It took me a while to get into the habit, but you know what? I love recycling because I no longer feel guilty for throwing away trash. I have three separate bins: Rastmuil (the real oogey trash), Plastic, and Paper. I still haven’t come to the point where I can recycle metals yet, because it’s so noisy to drop that stuff into the bin when it clinks up against each other. I hate that noise. It’s like nails on a chalkboard.

But I’m happy to announce that I’m become a reformed litter gal.

I wonder if the USA has made recycling more convenient lately? I hope so, because when I return to the states a year from now, I want to keep recycling, but it will really suck if I’ll have to go way out of my way to do it.
misc
2,306 views 2 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top

A lot of countries have strict trash laws because they simply don't have the room for landfills (like we have in the US).

I recycle as much as I can.  Our family of 3 throws out a 3/4 full bag of trash a week, the rest we recycle.  We recycle about 3 times what we throw out.  It just seems like a real waste not to.  It's not really that hard to do.  We just throw it all in a bin inside, then when that bin gets full, we take it out to the garage and sort it (we do cardboard, paper, metal, plastic and glass).  When those are full, we take them to the drop off bins and dump them.  Not exactly that difficult, and it's way better than filling our land with all that waste.

Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
Good for you KarmaGirl! I'm impressed that you're undaunted by that extra trip to the recycle bins. Very good for you! Keep it up & spread the word
ObjectDock - Access shortcuts and frequently used applications from an animated dock.