If you were an American moving into Germany....one of the biggest things you need to adjust to....is recycling. So I'm offering ten bits of advice on the topic.
First, don't ever take recycling as a joke. Germans will quickly spend ten minutes trying to restore your insanity if you make a comical joke about it, or you really screw up badly recycling. Once they start on this tirade, just stand there and don't smile or grin. Take your punishment and just hope that it ends in three minutes rather than ten minutes.
Second, batteries are special. Don't ever throw them in the regular garbage. At your local grocery....as you walk in....there will be a box to toss them in. Just save them up and toss them each week.
Third, yes, there are garbage police. It was a joke five years ago, but even now in most smaller towns and communities...there's some guy who comes around once or twice a year to open your can on disposal day. If you have issues....he'll note your bar-code and fine you. The can won't be picked up until you pay that fee and fix your issue typically. So my hint....if you want to violate the rules....do it and then dump a bunch of stuff on top of your issue (just my humble secret advice).
Fourth, that bottle container is only for certain hours of the day. If you leave home at 5AM and want to dump three wine bottles at the can in the middle of your town...forget it. Don't dump your bottles on Sundays because that's typically forbidden. So read the sign and ensure you don't have your car-tag noted by the locals and reported.
Fifth, if you screw up and don't push the paper container out on the right day....and miss your disposal chance....you are screwed big-time. It'll be two weeks before the next episode and you might have to keep a garbage bag in the basement with overflowing paper until the big can gets emptied. So track your days carefully.
Sixth, garbage is picked up by a contracted company and your fee typically goes to the county office itself. If you rent, your landlord covers everything. If you own....then you have to arrange things yourself. The guys at the county office will ask you how many members are in the family at the beginning, and this relates to how big a can you get. Typically....add one kid onto this because Americans donate more garbage than the average German (don't ask why).
Seventh, bio cans are a unique topic. If you have a leaf/bio pile in the your backyard....then you avoid this little fee and can. My guess is that thirty percent of German homeowners operate without the bio can. The bio can is probably the stinkiest mess that you will ever deal with because everything organic goes into it. A word of warning....citrus fruit typically is not allowed into the can. Again, one of those German things.
Eighth, leaves. You can dump leaves into your bio can or you can gather them up for a bag which you can dump yourself at the town's bio yard (usually free). German neighbors typically sneak over and dump their leaves into your bio can....only because they've overfilled their own can. So be watchful.
Ninth, the worst time of the garbage year? Typically Christmas week. Your can is filled by the half-way point and you've got a bag in the hallway to collect the overflow. The garbage guys are running some type of special schedule for that two-week period, but no one is ever sure about that schedule.
Tenth, your Christmas tree is a unique episode for disposal. Take the tree down by the 2nd or 3rd of January. Move the tree to your front yard and wait for some signal of everyone moving their trees out as darkness falls for a early morning pick-up. It's advertised in some local paper, but rarely seen because it's just a one-liner on some paragraph. If you miss that pick-up.....it's best to just take a saw and cut the thing up to toss in the bio can.
Germans took to recycling as though it was a personal matter. There's no jokes about this business as far as the culture goes. Just accept that and your visit to Germany will be fine.
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