Trash Talk

On our tour of the new apartment building, the caretaker, Tommy took us down to the room where we throw out our garbage.  It's super clean down there.  There is one bin for "bio" garbage, or kitchen scraps.  We're supposed to throw those away in a special green biodegradable bag.  There is one bin for plastic and paper recycling.  I'm assuming my cans will go in a special bin too.  There is a separate area for glass bottles.  That sounds pretty reasonable, right?  Simple! 

I've only been here a little while, and I can already tell this is going to get complicated.

When we arrived in Copenhagen, our good friend Jens presented us with a beautiful wooden box of wines.  I know where to put the empty wine bottles when we are done.  My question is, where do we throw the wooden box?  It doesn't seem like it should go in with the trash.  (Found out later that it probably does go in the regular trash.)

Problem solved!  Drawer organizer!

I'm sitting here looking at a soon-to-be finished bag of cheddar corn.  It's one of those foily-plastic bags.  Where do I throw that when I'm done with it?  Can it be recycled?  It's not really paper.  It's not really plastic.  What is it? (The answer is found below.). What about used napkins?  They are paper.  But should they be recycled?  We're putting those in the regular trash.

I have a feeling almost nothing will go in the traditional garbage can from now on.   For one thing, my trash can in the kitchen is the size of a bathroom garbage can.  Where am I supposed to store all of these recyclables before we take them downstairs to the trash room?  Where am I supposed to hold these kitchen scraps in the meantime?  I don't have any fancy recycle bins in the apartment.  All I have is this bathroom sized garbage can in my kitchen.

These are easily solved problems and questions that are easily answered.  I'll let you know what we find out.

One nice thing is that we can get some money back for our used soda cans and water bottles at the flaskeautomat.  It's like a reverse vending machine that gives you cash/script for your recyclables.  This will be Gaius' gig.  A way for him to make some extra pocket money.

Flaskautomat

Anyhoo, I think Americans should recycle more things.  Christopher and I aren't very confident that the things we recycle in Williamsburg aren't actually just ending up in a landfill somewhere.  So, this is a good change for us.  Or at least it will be, once we figure out what we're doing!  We're gonna be so green!

One thing that is helpful is reading things more closely.  For example, this toilet paper roll gives all the information I need about where to dispose of it.

You can recycle, compost or flush me down the toilet.

This bag of chips clearly shows that I should throw it in the trash when I am done, not recycle it!

I'm assuming that's a trash can.  But what if it's a recycle bin? 

Another sign to be observed is the one that says "SILENCE."  The other day, on the metro when we got on board the train, we went into the Quiet Zone of the train.  It's a glass enclosed room with a door labeled "Silent Area."  I don't know how to say, "Hey, lady!  Shut up!  Can't you read that the sign says 'SILENCE'?!" in Danish, but I now know what that sounds like.  The Danes must take their quiet zones very seriously!  We were all three just sitting there, quietly minding our own business.   I may have turned to CDN (Christopher), and in a normal speaking voice said, "I can't believe..." and then BAM!  I was viciously reprimanded!  By two people!  So much so that it was really hard for me to not start laughing uncontrollably!  I mean, within SECONDS of me breaking the silence, they shut me down!  And then the one woman in front of me went back to her silent knitting.  She may or may not have been glaring at me.  It was really remarkable.

I think we're really going to love it here!

På gensyn!  (See you later!)