|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2009 19:42:07 GMT
(as if they weren't all the same thing) How is rubbish handled where you live? In Paris, each building has three sets of rubbish bins for recycling purposes. The green one is for organic trash and anything you're not sure about. The yellow covered one is for paper, plastic and metal and the white one is for glass bottles and jars. In some of the small old buildings like mine, without even a courtyard to keep such things, we are obliged to snuggle up to the trash to open our mailboxes. Out on the streets are big bottle bins. You generally will not see these in the nice neighborhoods, but they don't mind making our area look ugly. And poor people drink a lot of cheap wine and beer, of course. The last series of terrorist bombings in Paris was about 15 years ago. The bombs were placed in the trash cans on the street. They were generally butane bottles full of nails and other schrapnel -- very messy for maximum casualties. So all of the trash cans disappeared for about 5 years until they finally found this solution, which lacks aesthetics but which is very good at not allowing bomb drops. I found myself looking at the trash bins in Bangkok also. Clearly they are starting to take these things seriously as well. Please add photos of your own trash receptacles to this thread. |
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Sept 21, 2009 12:24:33 GMT
Note that despite the green bin, there are bottles (wine and perhaps soft drink or juice?) in the rubbish bag as well). I don't mind the green bins but they have nicer ones in Amsterdam, where most of the bin is actually underground. Thus there is just a small square bin, one each for glass and paper (no metal or plastic recycling as far as I've seen) and another for rubbish. Special trucks come round to empty these, pulling the buried part of the bin out of the ground.
We have curbside recycling - it is this morning so I have to go downstairs with my bin. They are trying to redesign these green boxes as they are hard for people to carry down our staircases. Larger apartement buildings have bins as in Paris, but as you may know many, many people here live in triplexes with at least the first flight of stairs outdoors.
Montréal doesn't recycle compostables yet, but Toronto does; perhaps Jazz will be along with more info about that.
We have rubbish collection twice a week, certainly far beyond my needs. I rarely put a rubbish bag (bin liner) out more than once a week, and it is far less than half full). Vegetable peelings (pity not to compost them), bones, catshit... I do have more recycling, quite a bit of paper especially.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2009 12:29:22 GMT
Several French cities have gone to the underground bins, but it will be more complicated for Paris. Nevertheless, I'm sure they will do it sooner or later.
Green bags are for everything when there is no other option. They have started installing some yellow bags for the recyclable items, but they are still only in a few areas.
|
|
|
|
Post by imec on Sept 21, 2009 13:26:14 GMT
Note that despite the green bin, there are bottles (wine and perhaps soft drink or juice?) in the rubbish bag as well). Most glass is not recycled despite it being picked up. A very small portion of it is ground up to be used as material to make "roads" on the landfill site - but for the most part the bottles are just taken to the landfill. I knew someone in the commercial garbage/recycling business - it appears much of what is picked up for recycling (not just glass) actually ends up in the landfill depending on supply/demand for the particular recyclable. In short, it's largely a scam. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2009 13:48:49 GMT
Since landfills are now illegal in the EU, at least we don't have to worry about that. (Ha ha: obviously there are still plenty of illegal landfills in operation.)
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2009 15:04:08 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by imec on Sept 21, 2009 15:59:05 GMT
I'm strongly in favor of properly managed landfills as they're "finished" they provide a welcome relief from our flat landscape.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2009 16:56:05 GMT
Monday morning before the cleaning crews come through is generally not the best time to admire the streets of Paris. |
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Sept 21, 2009 17:53:08 GMT
Imec, les Buttes-Chaumont was made of landfill (earth and stone, not rubbish) from the Paris métro. And islands in the St-Lawrence were made from the dig for the Montréal métro.
|
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on Sept 21, 2009 19:47:18 GMT
Oh! that's really interesting.
|
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Sept 24, 2009 17:31:00 GMT
The method here is totally primitive, with the added inconvenience of having to be home when the garbage truck comes. We have municipal pick-up in my neighborhood. In my last neighborhood I had to depend on a private truck, as the municipal one didn't bother with my street. This is pretty common. I have one large garbage can into which I empty the kitchen can and the bathroom one. I compost all vegetable waste unless it's diseased stuff from the garden. Unfortunately, toilet paper can't be flushed here, so it goes into the garbage.  My truck is very reliable and comes Thursday mornings and Monday afternoons. It announces its arrival by ringing a bell. As they come barrelling over the hill, I scramble to empty the inside cans and hustle the big one down to the street, where I pass it up to the truck. At the first hint of a bell, I rush to the edge of the porch and peer to see if the truck has crested the hill so I can wave it down.  You can see how much recycling is done. The garbage can simply gets passed to the guy inside.  Then he passes it back. You can see the bell there on the right.  The writing on the door shows that it's a municipal truck, which technically doesn't have to be tipped.  I'm no dummy, though. Tipping means that they'll kindly wait for me to hustle out and down the drive with my trash.  Goodbye, garbage guys ~~ thanks!  |
|
