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Taking out the rubbish !!


Nicole
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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 ?

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[quote user="Nicole"]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 [/quote]

Unless I misunderstand your post, you have to separate, so why not start the process at home?

We have three large plastic boxes in the garage: for papers/cardboard, plastics/tins and glass. Then it's just a matter of remembering to take them to the bin...

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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.
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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

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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.

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[quote user="Patf"]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.[/quote]

No such service here!

I use the supermarket plastic bags to collect the "dirty" plasctics and I try to give everything a quick rinse in the soapy washing-up water before emptying the bowl.

We're fortunate to have a brand new déchetterie a few km away, just far enough not to be inconvenienced yet close enough for a quick detour on the way to the main town [:)]

The man there is very helpful (I think he gets lonely out in the sticks!) and they do have a huge pile of compost I can help myself to!

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  • 2 weeks later...

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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I don't know if its the same in all areas but  from the info sheet we were given: non sac jaune are:  'pots latier, sur emballages sacs et films en plastique, bouteilles d'huile, barquettes en polystyrene.' apparently they can't yet recyle things that have fat residue nor packaging that contains plastic 'trops fins' but hope to be able to do so in the future.

As for washing it says ' Il suffit simplement de bien les vider ou de les racler pour qu'ils ne salissent pas les autres emballages. Il est inutile de les laver car l'eau consommee doit etre ensuite.... traitee.

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[quote user="Helen"]

 

As for washing it says ' Il suffit simplement de bien les vider ou de les racler pour qu'ils ne salissent pas les autres emballages. Il est inutile de les laver car l'eau consommee doit etre ensuite.... traitee.

[/quote]It's always struck me as vaugely nutty to waste water washing things you're recyling in an effort to help conserve the planet.  Different, of course, with Clair's method where the water was already "used" of course.
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[quote user="cooperlola"][t's always struck me as vaguely nutty to waste water washing things you're recyling in an effort to help conserve the planet.  Different, of course, with Clair's method where the water was already "used" of course.[/quote]

Yeah! Kinda makes me feel like I'm trying at least [:P]

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