Oh, Rubbish

On our first day here, we met one of our neighbors. They have been very friendly and were also very excited to have Americans living next door to them. They told us that the family that rented our house prior to us were also American and they loved hearing about the differences between the cultures. They said –ask us anything, we are happy to help you get settled in. One of the first questions that we had to ask them was about garbage day. Our neighbor laughed and said –yes, I remember you Americans call it garbage –but we call it rubbish. So one day, he brought me a piece of paper filled with the directions on what to do on rubbish day. And I will tell you, this rubbish disposal process is complicated! Back at home –we just took the trash bins out every Friday morning –they came and got it – and we were done. Here, every other week there is a different bin, the first week being the green bin and green box filled with garden refuse, bottles and cans, the second week being the black bin and all rubbish which cannot be recycled plus cardboard, newspapers, magazines and catalogues. In addition, all plastic bottles and tetra pack cartons need to be taken to a different recycle point. The binmen (trash/rubbish collectors), also “profile” your family based on who is living in the house and estimate how much rubbish you should have, and if you go over what they think you should have, they charge you extra. WHAT???? Do they realize that I have a 2 year old still in diapers, a 5 year old that uses a tissue and paper towel once and throws it away and a household that I am buying new things for every day? Wow –I am guessing they are going to be off the mark if they try to profile my family for rubbish usage. Oh, rubbish.