A new bin has arrived in our small commune.
Until Friday, we had one green topped bin for general rubbish, and one yellow bin for recycling. All glass and paper waste (i.e. newspapers and magazines) must be taken to the dark green and blue recycling bins in the village.
A couple more houses in our hamlet are now being inhabited permanently so now we have an extra green topped bin !.
It does take a little getting used to, to remember to take the rubbish to the bins at the end of the road and then to sort it by the roadside.. and there are no secrets !!.. everyone know what breakfast cereal you eat !!.
But be careful..to ONLY put the recycling rubbish in the yellow topped bin. Dustbin men in France have huge powers to humiliate those who abuse the recycling rules !!. I once put a crème fraiche tub in the recycling bin and on the way back from taking the children to school is was taped with red and white hazard stripped masking tape to the top of the bin for all to see !!.. I screeched to a halt, hoping I was the first to see my error. I tore the crème fraiche tub from the bin and put it in the green topped bin..
Why can’t crème fraiche tubs be recycled anyway ?
Nicole wrote:It does take a little getting used to, to remember to take the rubbish to the bins at the end of the road and then to sort it by the roadside.. and there are no secrets
Absolutely Clair, we recycle everything here, light bulbs, printer cartridges, old clothes as well as our domestic waste which we sort at home. Can't think why anybody would stand at the bins organising their rubbish.
The creme fraiche pots are not recyclable plastic btw.
We have it easy in France, you should try Switzerland! As well as the usual recyle options, the 'normal' rubbish has to be put in a special type of bag that you buy at the supermarket which has an additional tax levied on it, you can't use any old bag. A work colleague chucked his stuff in an old carrier bag one week, the 'Bin Police' tracked him down via an envelope in the rubbish and fined him 600 Swiss Francs!!
This was in Zurich, don't know if it's the same in other Cantons
I like the recycling system in our area with the different coloured wheelie bins, and the back up of the dechetterie, because it makes recycling so easy. OK the dechetterie man is not the easiest person in the world to get on with but at least there is a place to go to with bits and pieces. When I go back to the UK, I get frustrated with how difficult it is there.
I also thought that it was greasy tubs that they do not want in the yellow bin, unless they are cleaned. Does anyone put their stuff in the dishwasher before recycling? I've often thought about it but hleld back as it rather defeats the object.
Patf wrote:Don't they provide you with yellow sacks for the plastic packaging etc? From the Mairie. I think containers which have had something greasy in them eg plastic oil bottles, creme fraiche containers, go with the uncyclable stuff. You're unlucky though, no-one checks here. The dechetterie man is more particular.You have to flatten cartons, plus empty them of any packaging.
We have carried on as if in UK - we had the bin- fuhrers there - so I have just continued my system here, only exception being that I take the stuff to the recycling bins instead of collection from the house.
I wash/rinse it all before it goes, however I am the ONLY one in the hamlet who recycles anything judging by the contents of the bulk bin we all use. Maybe they think I am mad??
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