Do you recycle?!?! We do!

It occurred to me that I have not really shared with all of you some of the "different" things about the Netherlands. Some things are great and some things not so much!  This is one of my not so favorite things about living in Holland. The garbage!

This is how it works, I'm assuming most of you probably have those huge plastic garbage cans that they come and pick up once a week.  Well here we have a garbage can that is half that size and they come half as often! Want to know why it is so small???


Well here it goes, we also have a green bin about the same size as the trash can. In the green you're expected to put in your grass clippings, leaves, and anything else from the yard.  You are also to put in anything that will decompose like your leftover food. This is a GREAT concept in the winter! It is not so great in the summer when it gets up to the 80's and this weekend 90's and you have old rotten food in your garbage for 2 whole weeks! Let me tell you the smell is disgusting and the flies love it.  Do you know what happens when flies like your garbage? You end up with maggots!!!! DISGUSTING!  I have never seen a maggot until here but gross!!!

If you're not too disgusted to keep reading here is what else we have to do...

1. Separate out all the paper and save them for an entire month for them to pick up on the 3rd Saturday of the month.  NEVER miss this day! It is usually rainy so these people come by on tractors with wagons, soaking wet, picking up soggy wet paper and cardboard (I do not envy them)
2. Separate all the plastics and put them into a plastic bag that you have to go to the city hall to get. This comes, well, were not really sure when this date is exactly but we follow suit when other put theirs out. Still only once a month. 
3. Separate all glass containers, take them to designated areas and then put them in to the corresponding green, white or brown dumpsters.
4. I'm pretty sure you are supposed to do something with cans from canned goods and probably pop cans but they make it into the general trash in our house.

What happens when you miss paper pick up day while on vacation

Our plastic bags, full of plastic

Because you have to separate all of this stuff you are supposed to be able to make it 2 weeks for your regular trash day. We NEVER do, each and every week this thing is over flowing and we're cramming every little thing in on Thursday night so we don't have to have it hanging open all week long.

Oh and if you ever have your windows to the house open when they come and get the trash you will be sorry.  Your entire house will smell like those rotten garbage cans do :(

One other crazy fact I learned about garbage here: there are people you can hire to come and wash out your garbage cans once a month or something like that! I also would not want that job!

So, needless to say I will be happy to have my HUGE garbage can and my HUGE recycle can back!!!!

Enough about trash! Until next time, I promise to have something better to talk about!