Handling trash is something akin to a part time job here in Germany. We try to be good guests here, so we participate in the madness of recycling.
Here's how it works:
You get a trash can. This trash can is one third the size of an average American trash can and is emptied half as often. When it's emptied, you pay the bill. There's two other containers that are emptied, one for paper recycling and one for biological waste, or compostable things (think egg shells to grape stems to coffee grounds to yard trash. The paper container is emptied once a month and the bio container is emptied twice a month. These are free (I think...)
Still with me?
There's also the Wertstoffhof.
Now the Wertstoffhof is a funny place to go. First, you must locate the one in your town. If you are lucky, it's open two days a week from about 10am-6pm and on a Saturday from 10am-3pm. If you're feeling adventurous, you can go to a larger town where it's open Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm.
Once you arrive, if you're a newbie, you stand dazed and confused at the 20 different containers to sort your items.
I'm so happy to be a veteran at the Wertstoffhof.
There are containers for aluminum cans, paper, cartons, drink cartons, cardboard, plastic bottles, plastic containers, plastic packaging, styrofoam, batteries, metal, aerosol cans, aluminum foil, CD's, glass (separate containers for clear, brown, and green glass...), and large trash called Sperrmuell.
Now, Sperrmuell you must pay extra for. You have 4 coupons per year to get rid of things like toilet seats or broken furniture. After that, you pay...
So, how does one manage to go piece by piece with all the recycling from home?
You MUST have a system.
Large and small tubs. Recycling is taken from the kitchen to the laundry room downstairs. This will soon be performed by a small child and her name is Kate. It is then sorted into the tubs. Once the tubs are full at home, they can be taken to the Wertstoffhof.
But only during the proper recycling hours, of course.
Arriving at the Wertstoffhof with confidence is highly recommended. Acting like you know what you are doing is critical. The beauty of the tub system is this...you take and dump your own tub of items into the proper dumpster quickly. If the attendants catch you putting an item in the wrong dumpster, you will get the finger shake.
They will tell you, in no uncertain terms, that you put your item in the WRONG container and you should KNOW better. Sometimes they smile when they do this, but it's best not to expect it.
So dump with confidence and move quickly. Watch the other people and learn where to put stuff, lest you get the finger shake.
Some recommend just taking trash to the US military base here in town. As I said, we like to try to be good guests here so we do the recycling thing. It it great to be able to recycle so many things, and it does make us very aware of our own waste and how to reduce and reuse. I do, however, marvel at the time and energy it has taken (this is, after all, my second tour in Germany) to get a system down that works for us.
I have to have the system in place. Summer's coming. Food scraps and hot weather mean serious odor issues if not managed properly...
