Recycling in Paris

Organising trash collection in big cities is a complex task, and it is even more complicated when the effort of recylcing is made.
We have three different trash cans in our Parisian buildings.
One with a white top and a hole for glass (see picture) ... yes, the French drink wine which comes in glass bottles, plus yogurts, petits pots, preserves, and more. They are collected twice weekly.
Another trash can has a yellow top; this one is for boxes, cardboard, paper, newspapers, magazines, plastic bottles, small electric appliances, cans ... Collection is made twice a week as well.

The one with a green top is for the rest! These are collected everyday. They come in two sizes,
small and large, according to the size of the building and the size of the trash compartiment.
To respect our dreams, the 432 trucks in charge of trash collection circulate in the city only after 6 am and 60% of them use natural gas as fuel.


That's our daily contribution to recylcing at home, but there's more to it!
You see in the streets large container like the once in the picture, for glass as well. That is because a lot of very old buildings (like the one where I love) have no room for three trash cans and cannot comply with the town regulations. Therefore, we have a bag where we keep the bottles and glass jars, and when it is full, we go an to one of the many large containers to recycle glass.
Other way to recycle include:
> Many supermarkets have special containers for batteries, lamps, and Brita filters.
> Chemists must take medicine that has not been used.
> Optical shops accept old glasses that an organisations recylces and send to low income countries.
> Shops that sell appliances must accept the old washer or TV set when you buy a new one ...

To get rid of toxic chemicals (paint, acid, etc.) you can call a telephone number and set an appointment for them to come collect. This is a free service.
You can call a different number to dispose of furniture that you no longer need. If the furniture is in good condition, you can also choose to call an association that will redistribute to people with low income. Same for clothes.
The Paris city hall also encourages the inhabitants to take a recyclable bag when they do their shopping, to buy items with as little package as possible, to use "refills", to avoid using disposable wipes, to use batteries that can be recharged, and to drink tap water.
Click on the test on the right to know what your carbon print is! (test is in French)
Tout un programme!!

No comments:

Post a Comment