Are you environment-friendly?

Are you environment friendly? I am not strict with environment but I tried my best to keep it up and show respect and teach my girls to throw their garbage things seperately and we have three garbage bins in my local area, one is for food, and one is for bottles and plastic and one small box is for newspaper and cardboard for recycled.

I don't buy re-cycled bleached toilet paper because the color looks awful and I prefer the nice Kleenex toilet paper knowing it kill few trees for that! :roll:

We save up alumnium cans and will get small money back from the supermarket.

Food waste such as peeling potatoes, apples, tea bags, coffee filter bags, we put it in the compost bin at the back of my garden, and it is fanastic fertiliser for the garden too.

Are you keep it up or cannot be bothering as it is nuisance to keep it up?? :roll:

I voted "can't bother" because.. Its both yes and no...

I only recycle aluminum cans.. cuz i can get like 37 cents per pound.

other than that i throw in trash... since my town.. recycling dept sucks.. hafta pay monthly for it so not worth it..

I know that in cities some city laws require u to recycling papers, plastic, cans, steel, etc.. but here in my town doesn't require that.. and it cost us money per month only $20 per month.. that seems alot. if its free i won't mind do it..

Growing up in my hometown in New Jersey, we started recycling by law when I was about 12 years old or so. This habit got into me very well, to a point where I continue to separate trash from recyclables. We separated by metal (tin cans), plastic, aluminum, glass, newspapers and general waste.

When I went to Newark for college, recycling was required there as well. The dorms were stocked with separate bins for different items. When I studied abroad in Germany, I was VERY impressed with their recycling program. Not only do they separate the bins by glasses, plastic and trash, but they also have special green bins for compost food, bins for paper, bins for clothings, etc... Glasses were also separated by colour. Even the local McDonald's had recycling bins, with clear signs instructing you what you can put in certain bins.

When I came back to USA and lived on my own in Flemington, we had a recycling program too. I separated everything all the time. When I moved to Utah, I was shocked that in Provo they don't recycle. Everything is thrown into one bin. It was a very hard habit to break. Now that I am living in Salt Lake City, they have a recycling program, so I do feel a whole lot better to start separating my trash again.

I do recycle when I can. I'm not very picky or a crazy recycler. I just do what I can... when I can.

I do that here -- back in USA -- I couldn't be bothered at all and what's more it wasn't mandatory at the time. I'm pretty sure it's mandatory now, isn't it?

In Australia, it is quite mandatory -- strict guidelines to follow in recycling.

Also I forgot to add one more, in England, we have to pay for plastic bags to store our food shopping, and lots of British people bring their own material bags to reuse it.

In Australia we don't pay for plastic bags but the Government is trying to introducing the cost of plastic bags in supermarket shortly.

Red~Rum said:

Also I forgot to add one more, in England, we have to pay for plastic bags to store our food shopping, and lots of British people bring their own material bags to reuse it.

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RedRum, you beat me… I was planning to post those thread after finish to respond Kuiji75’s thread over the water situation…

England? Really? Perhaps you confused between Germany & England?

I vote yes because I’m familiar with environment friendly accord German law …

We own 3 separately bins like this…
Green container for cardboard, newspapers
Yellow container for plastic
Black container trash
Brown container compost (we don´t need it because we have own compost)

For the 3 color glasses like brown, green & white to put 3 large containers separately & also metal container & small box for batteries, too at every area where the people live.… I walked with my sons to 5 large containers to sort color glasses, cans, metal etc to right containers.
You are not allow to mix the color glass in one container but 3 separately containers.

You will pay penatly fine if you didn´t obey Environment law from €500.-- The dustmen won´t empty your bins & give you a warning note to not mix with cupboards, plastic, trash in one bin. They leave you to sort everything from mix into papers, trash & plastic separately. If you do it again for 2nd time, then penalty fine…

We don’t use aluminum cans but bottles of glasses or plastic with deposits. You get money refund when you returned empty glasses or plastic bottles…

We used raw peeling vegetables, tea bags, coffee bags etc in the compost bin which it´s good useful for our garden…

Well, my sons were taught by school over environment… They grow up to respect the environment situation.
The teachers gave us the list what we should get our children something which belong to environment like tupperware box or drink for them to use for their lunch… No cans are acceptance at school…

You are not allow to leave dog´s business on the road or path. You have to pick their business up & throw them at trash bin. You will pay the penatly fine from €20 if you didn´t pick their business´s up (poo)

Honestly I find it´s fanastic to keep the country clean.

A lot of Germans used their own material bags to store our foods at supermarkets because we have to pay for plastic or paper bags…

Funny enough, when we spend our summer vacation with my Dad in London. My sons are shocked to see every pets´s business everywhere on the path to road like this.
My sons looked for cupboard & plastic bin My Dad pointed trash bin but my son said… it´s not trash… I want cupboard… Oh dear… poor Dad tried to convince him that it´s trash we throw everything in one bin… It confused my sons…
I was grow up in London & know how difference between England & Germany… oh dear… I convinced my sons that every have different cultures & have different law.


Well, we have been went Singapore for our vacation at 2 years ago & must admitted that Singapore is very, very clean & beautiful country in the world. Throw the cigarettes, chewing gum, foods etc are strictly forbidden there. If you want smoke or eat then find bench to sit down to have your lunch or smoke. Each bench has own rubbish bin with smoking tray. You pay the penatly fine if they catch you smoke or eat on the street, also chewing gum, too. If you can’t achieve $1,000 fine, then you have to clean the street etc for 2 weeks. My sons respect their law which it´s good.

I would say that Singapore is over 100% strict with envoirment friendly than Germany (around 80%)

The German Government are going to plan to copy Singapore´s law…

But I do use something which it´s not belong to envoirment is ready diaper lol!!! :roll:

P.S. American soliders stationed at Germany where I work are very interesting over enviroment... We trained them how to sort the cupboard, trash, plastic, glasses etc separately... They find it´s fanastic... & said that it´s shame that Unitied States of America didn´t do that

It is extremely important that we commit to recycling in order to keep the landfills at a lower level.

You do not want to have the landfill to keep growing and growing till it's too late. Plus, it smells!

Now, we have a recently upgraded recycling program involving organic, plastic, paper, and more. Now, it is expected to go from 40% to 60% in diverting the wastes from the landfills.

A big difference, and it is likely they'll upgrade the program even more in the future to divert more from the landfills.

There are even talks of using methrone (sp?) from the landfills in order to produce energy for the city.

I voted "Yes". Our town is very environment friendly. We have a red recycle bin here and on my street they come to pick up every other week. I seperate newspapers and shredded papers and put them in the paper bag. All plastic bottles like milk, laundry detergent, bleach, and the like. I also seperate cans such as cat food, etc in the plastic bag just to keep them together. We have compost that is several miles away from us. We dump all the dead leaves and branches there for free.

I voted ' Yes '.....Since, I've moved into my new home 9 years ago , been recycling ever since and to keep our city clean!....

Liebling:-))) said:

RedRum, you beat me… I was planning to post those thread after finish to respond Kuiji75’s thread over the water situation…?

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Really???? You read my mind!!

Liebling:-))) said:

England? Really? Perhaps you confused between Germany & England?

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Yes, In England's Food chain such as Sainsbury, Tesco, Waitrose, they charge you a paper bag for about 10p each, and plastic bag about 7p each!!!

Liebling))), I remember when I was in Germany, I had to pay about 30 pfennings for Pfand (refund) on soda bottles. There were special refund machines at the Mensa (student cafeteria) where you could deposit empty soda bottles and get 30 pfennings back. I also bought a special collapsable box for use at supermarket, so that I would not have to pay 20 pfennings per bag. Larger soda bottles had 70 pfennings Pfand, and I sometimes saved them like 20 of them and brought back to store, to get 14 deutsche marks back.

In New Jersey, they don't have refund system. Nor does Utah, as far as I know. I remember when I went shopping at ALDI (a German foodstore chain) in New Jersey, I had to pay for the bags too.

>>P.S. American soliders stationed at Germany where I work are very interesting over enviroment... We trained them how to sort the cupboard, trash, plastic, glasses etc separately... They find it´s fanastic... & said that it´s shame that Unitied States of America didn´t do that <<

I found it very hard at first to get use to the GErman Recycling laws, but once you get used to it you learn to appreciate it.

My town is starting to have a mandatory separation of house trash and yard waste. Green bin for house trash, red bin for yard waste. I guess the yard waste is taking too much space in the landfills.

kuifje75 said:

Liebling))), I remember when I was in Germany, I had to pay about 30 pfennings for Pfand (refund) on soda bottles. There were special refund machines at the Mensa (student cafeteria) where you could deposit empty soda bottles and get 30 pfennings back. I also bought a special collapsable box for use at supermarket, so that I would not have to pay 20 pfennings per bag. Larger soda bottles had 70 pfennings Pfand, and I sometimes saved them like 20 of them and brought back to store, to get 14 deutsche marks back.

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Yes, I was in Germany last year and order a bottle of Coke Cola at the Cafe and I was told to drink it empty and I will get a refund one euro, if I return it back to the waitress!! I'm sure Liebling)) will explain it more soon.

kuifje75 said:

In New Jersey, they don't have refund system. Nor does Utah, as far as I know. I remember when I went shopping at ALDI (a German foodstore chain) in New Jersey, I had to pay for the bags too.

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Recently German's foodstore chain ALDI arrived in Australia, and its exactly the same as in Germany, there I will have to pay for its plastic bag!!

Safeways, Coles, 7-11, don't charged me for its plastic bags yet!!

i vote yea... java and i do that.. so save cans and earn it..

My hometown is big on recycling. We have three seperate "trash" bins. Black for garbage, Green for green waste, and Grey for Recycling. We have the smallest black bin, and the largest green and grey bins, so we recycle more than we throw away waste. Also we always reuse biogradeable stuff, like banana peels, used tea bags, and plant them in our garden... they make great fertizilers!

kuifje75 said:

Liebling))), I remember when I was in Germany, I had to pay about 30 pfennings for Pfand (refund) on soda bottles. There were special refund machines at the Mensa (student cafeteria) where you could deposit empty soda bottles and get 30 pfennings back. I also bought a special collapsable box for use at supermarket, so that I would not have to pay 20 pfennings per bag. Larger soda bottles had 70 pfennings Pfand, and I sometimes saved them like 20 of them and brought back to store, to get 14 deutsche marks back.

In New Jersey, they don't have refund system. Nor does Utah, as far as I know. I remember when I went shopping at ALDI (a German foodstore chain) in New Jersey, I had to pay for the bags too.

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Yes, that’s right but I’m afraid that the condition what you mentioned belong the past since € conversation in 2001…
Like what RedRum stated is correct… It’s expensive to pay the deposit (Pfand) from 0.50 cent per plastic or glass bottle. It depend to different shops how much they charge you for the deposit. Of course they refund your deposit on the same price only if you had the receipt.
A lot of Germans doesn’t bother to return the bottles to shop with cheap deposit, that’s why they decide to deposit you more than €0.50 cent per bottle to make them to return their undamaged bottles to get the refund.
Example of all I paid box of 12 bottles of juices cost €5.95 Euro, then pay extra €4.50 for deposit, then I will get €4.50 back when I returned undamaged bottles with box. (It cost less than buy one bottle).

Red~Rum said:

Really???? You read my mind!!

Yes, In England's Food chain such as Sainsbury, Tesco, Waitrose, they charge you a paper bag for about 10p each, and plastic bag about 7p each!!!

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Wow, it’s good to know that the environment goes improve in England now. The people there would to learn to accept the environment conditions… I remember that my Dad & siblings find German’s environment law good & wish that their country ought improve…