Time to Celebrate!

Our trash can-notice the bar code
on the side

After waiting almost two weeks, we celebrate the arrival of our trash can today!   We ordered it when we registered in Kandern on July 19th, but we were unsure of the arrival date.  Now it is on the porch for our use.

Let me explain a bit about German trash.  I have counted at least five ways that we must recycle.  More options are available, but I'll just explain what we now do daily to keep our trash separated.

gelb sack is on left, sack with clean
paper in back, cardboard box contains
bags of  "black trash"

All packaging and items with special "recycle" symbols go in one trash bag; that is the 'gelb sack'.   'Gelb' means 'yellow'; the sack is yellow.  Cans are included in this category.  We can get as many yellow sacks as we want; they cost us nothing, but we must store the filled sacks until the monthly pick-up.  We are keeping the gelb sack in the keller (basement).

Looking down into the recycling container
under the sink.  

All paper that is clean (even printed paper) goes in a separate container of our choosing.  We separate it here in the apartment, then take it down to the keller when the container here is full.  Eventually, we will need to go to take the paper to the 'recycling hof' where we will separate cardboard from newspaper from printing paper.  That may be a few weeks down the road.

Brown, green, and glass containers
 across the street

All glass must be separated into clear, brown, and green.  We just put everything that is glass in a bag in our entry and take it to the recycling bins which are just across the street.

All plastic bottles, mostly soda and water bottles, go back to the market where we feed the bottles into a machine which spits out a receipt.  The receipt is exchanged at the register for a refund or a deduction from the grocery bill.  We have a bag in the entry for plastic bottles, too.

The last category of trash is the garbage (no garbage disposal), used cat litter, dirty paper, etc. group.  That category goes in our brand new black trash can.  Every Monday the town collects from black trash cans that are on the street.  Interestingly, each can has a bar code and the name of the owner.  That code is read by the arm from the truck, recorded, and the owner billed based on the number of times in a month the can is emptied!   We have been storing our "black trash" in the keller for almost two weeks, which makes for a stinky keller.  Now we can store it in the brand new black trash can.

Our brand new can, on the porch next to
the red pillar!

We celebrate being more a part of the community with our official can and less responsible for the stinkyness of the keller!