German cooking is often thought of as being very hearty with an emphasis on meat and potatoes. – electronic garbage By learning how to dispose of cooking fats—from vegetable oil to animal grease—properly. Ali The trash magazine does say to put medicine, like pills that have expired, in the black garbage can, so that should be fine. And can I use my Hefty trash bags in any of these below? I do like that there’s a big emphasis on recycling, and it is very odd to be in other countries and throw everything into one bin. It could save your life someday. I’m not into lining the bins with newspaper, and not using anything is a bit hard to deal with too. And since the bags were transparent, neighbors would check to see if the foreigner had done it right! 10:03 PM, […] wrote about how to separate garbage in Germany a while back. Many countries opposed this proposal. Especially when you dont have one of those tubes that lets the oil flow out of the bottom. Domestic cooking oil can be correctly disposed of in the "normal" garbage. Also, don’t even think about walking down the street to dispose of your glass on Sundays or after the posted hours. March 28, 2015 @ September 19, 2014 @ Our landlady yelled at her about it when we were moving out because she had so much crap in the stairway all the time. I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions! These oils can be cleaned and used in animal feeds, or in fuel for adapted cars. | wert and art, The Environmental World Leader | Deakin SciCom 2014, When throwing out the garbage is a scary task - Dasher Life, 5 instances of reverse culture shock from my trip back to the US | live . It’s not expensive. 8:35 AM, […] (which are placed in a box near the glass disposal bin where the refunds are received) and even Christmas trees which are collected on one specific day in […], Brent October 5, 2015 @ There should be a bin for paper, that’s where you should put a pizza box and other cartons made out of paper. Trolling the Bauamt. I was tempted to ring them to ask and then get into the circular argument with them. February 19, 2017 @ Ali Well just wasn't sure that was environmentally friendly or what not. Plus certain things differ from one region to another. It’ s true that even many locals are still quite unsure about all the sorting. March 3, 2013 @ Beer bottles, plastic soda bottles, aluminum cans, etc. “We are training the public to recycle”. 4) Other items: a black garbage can – This is the only garbage can we actually pay for. Our system in Norway is exactly the same except for the yellow bag – and how we need a yellow bag! The bad weather and the grumpy people don’t help, either. For the food/bio trash can, they sell biodegradable bags you can use and those are ok to put in the bio trash can. 10:43 AM. The first thing you need to do is let the oil cool down, so you can transfer it into a container before throwing it away. 1:07 AM. Ali Ryan from Jets Like Taxis Place in your Green Bin for curbside collection. Really random crap – If you have a bathtub, window glass, or an animal carcass, you have to call a special number. December 7, 2014 @ Our garbage is either every week or every other week depending on what it is, I’m glad we don’t also have any once a month things. You could also add about 2-3 tablespoons of detergent to each cup of oil/fat and mix well. 8. After a couple of rounds, we’ll replace the plastic bag. 3:28 PM. I hope the recycle places do sort out the plastic that can be recycled from the ones that can’t. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; May 24, 2013 @ Garbage and recycling in Germany is way more in depth. You could also add about 2-3 tablespoons of detergent to each cup of oil/fat and mix well. I had a feeling that’s what many people do, just throw a lot of their trash in the Restmull. Kind of a nasty thought that your putting hamburger fat on your face to look pretty! November 11, 2018 @ Teresa Riedel Ali Many people think that all sorts of plastics go into the yellow sack or yellow bin. 10:35 PM. No, not the yellow bag. Sorry the trash stuff is getting to you! Add a bit of warm water. I know they make a big deal out of these things here. Ali June 1, 2014 @ Before you wash pots and pans, wipe them of excess grease with a paper towel to save the oil being poured down the sink. Ha! 12:51 PM. Glad to make you laugh, Eleonora! It is actually the number one reason for clogged pipes in a home. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "alisadve-20"; I hope you realised that I was chuckling with each post of mine. Thanks JR! Many countries are producing huge garbage piles and don’t know how to properly recycle. 9:31 PM. I’m pretty sure Berlin has the option to make a Sperrmüll appointment, but I don’t think anyone actually does it. 2:00 AM. January 6, 2019 @ This is a bit awkward to ask. You have to put these bottles and cans into a machine that spits out a receipt with your refund amount. It ranges from 8 cents to 25 cents depending on what the item is. 7:06 PM, That is just crazy and too much of a headache to keep up with. In Freiburg, you choose your size and you’re charged accordingly. 10:39 PM, Newcomer This led to all kinds of dramatic discussions in class about garbage because, as foreigners, we were all still confused about trash even after months of living here. August 6, 2013 @ – glass I have a 5 liter container of gasoline at my home. Since those bags are bio-degradable, you can put them in the bio trash can (usually brown). 9:21 PM, Hello guys February 25, 2013 @ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 11:32 AM. I know for a fact that organic food waste can be processed and the methane generated used to put electricity into the power grid. The costs for garbage collection come out of property owner’s council rates which they pay either monthly, quarterly or yearly. Domestic cooking oil can be correctly disposed of in the "normal" garbage. amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; But only these three things. Thanks, I’m glad it helped! 10:23 AM. When we lived in Freiburg, the town sent out a magazine each year detailing what things went in which trash category. Carefully pour the used, cooled cooking oil into a large, sturdy plastic or wax-coated leak proof container, such as the original container or a juice carton, no larger than 5-gallons in size. And yes, you can use your normal Hefty trash bags in the black one. December 7, 2014 @ Refine your search. If the clothes aren’t wearable anymore, have holes in them or something, throw them out in the Restmull. Sorry— this system gives me migraines. ASH-BLACK BIN I doubt Germans would just throw away meds when even washing your car at home is prohibited. 10:10 PM. But it doesn’t take long to realize, that’s just WRONG. I know it’s an old post, but just for explanation: The orange bins in Berlin are public bins for your everyday ‘trash on the go’ (tissue paper, food packaging etc). We still do our best but I know we are not 100%. Ali Did an IUD Make My Ulcerative Colitis Worse? Once there are no more fat globules the stuff can go down the drain. They send us a sticker each year to show that we’ve paid for it. It kind of becomes just a part of what you do. Thanks for the info. Although maybe it’s a sign that their trash categories are too difficult to decipher, so they have to redo it anyway. ENVELOPE-PAPER-BLUE BIN/PLASTIC-YELLOW BIN 8:23 PM. It’s really just the bio because it’s food trash and the paper because it’s paper that you can’t use normal trash bags. And really, really crazy to “train the public to recycle” if it’s all getting put into one pile and resorted anyway. Yes, there are lots of complicated aspects of life in Germany, but there are a lot of great things about living here too. During the cold winter periods, Germans had to consume higher calorie and nutritious foods to sustain their health. Maybe try paper bags? It is very confusing, and even after 2 years I still get stumped sometimes. March 23, 2014 @ I found it so weird when I first got here, but now I just do it mostly. Reuse Leftover Cooking Oil. Ok so I have to walk down to the bins carrying single pizza boxes or can I throw them away in a plastic bag? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. – plastic bottles and drink package thingies what they likely cost the city of Berlin to buy and set up) would be of great help! August 14, 2016 @ Then when you buy your groceries, the refund gets applied to your total. Absolutely do not pour it down the sink or toilet. I think certain types of garbage here gets sorted through once it gets to wherever it goes. Here in Australia garbage collection is handled by the local government (councils, cities or shires depending on what they call themselves and where they’re located). Because really, if you’re enjoying a couple beers in the park, do you really want to carry a couple of 8 cent bottles home with you? July 26, 2016 @ Mostly it depends on if you have your own personal black trash can or if your building uses a communal one. This is explained partly by Germany's relatively northern location. I do appreciate how much Germany does for the environment, although I know I will probably never know how to throw out garbage here with 100% accuracy. When you have things too big to throw in the […], Fotini Frances Beware of cooking meat or fish repeatedly in oil, though. Since Pfand is such a small amount, most people would rather hand off the bottle to someone else or leave it on the sidewalk for one of the bottle people to pick up. I don't know the correct place, but i put it in plastic bottles and chuck it in the general big silver waste bins. But not the brown one. Same goes for coke bottles, but not for wine bottles, those need to go with the glass. 10:08 PM. We live in Berlin now and they don’t do that, so I don’t know if your town does it or not. I have lived in Germany for eight years now and still find the garbage removal to be quite mysterious. Now that we’re in Berlin, there are big yellow dumpsters for our building. We have lived in Germany for 25 years and we continue to be confused at the ever changing recycle requirements. So juice cartons, the plastic container meat comes in, plastic wrappers, yogurt containers (but only after you’ve rinsed out any remaining yogurt), and shampoo bottles. February 14, 2015 @ What is the correct way to dispose used cooking oil? Andy and I have 35L and it gets collected every 2 weeks, but some people have theirs picked up every week, some people have bigger cans, etc. Look for them in the aisle with the other bags and aluminum foil and all that. But the bottle people often come around with giant bags or even grocery carts and collect hundreds of bottles at least. You made me laugh! Ali 10:04 PM. But not used tissues. Can you tell me a little bit about them? I told our landlords about the site, and they used it as a reference for the people living in our building here in Freiburg. Smells like your driving behind a huge deep fryer…. Linda October 20, 2016 @ I inquired about disposing of it and the German “Trash Police” actually told me to buy a bag of kitty litter, pour the kitty litter into a big bucket, add the old gasoline to said kitty litter, wait for a few days for the the gas to evaporate and then discard the old kitty litter into the normal trash can. I had a calendar devoted to keeping track of my recycling! Fotini From childhood on we Germans are trained or it’s in our genes I’m definitely getting more used to it after being here for over a year. Ali 10:17 AM. If it’s not food, paper, plastic packaging, glass, batteries, electronics….throw it in the black and don’t worry about it. This is one science which is still evolving. Finally, if you fancy yourself the amateur scientist or are just a hobbyist, you could turn it into soap. We have just been storing it in the keller, procrastinating what to do about it. But if the package with a Green Dot is made of cardboard or glass you have to put it into the bins for waste paper resp. Required fields are marked *. I hope that helps! Who knows. It’s where I used to put my napkins, because they’re paper products. Thank You! I just moved to Germany and I want to know where do I put the used Gas tank. **Update: Before moving to Berlin, we had a bag of gypsum leftover from the renovations we had done on the apartment. Almost every restaurants have a kind of drum where they collect such fatty oil, simply carry it to any café or restaurants nearby. I am really impressed by your nice and splendid way of addressing this issue. Other glass – Notice I didn’t mention wine bottles up there. At least this is a good way to understand and create a benchmark. Bottles and cans – Whether it’s the 2 liter Coke bottle, the smaller half liter Coke bottles, an aluminum can, or a beer bottle, they all go back to the grocery store. Thats not what the link to garbage disposal that I included indicates: "Geringe Mengen ranziges Speiseöl können Sie in einem geschlossenen Behälter in den Restmüll geben. 6:11 PM. June 26, 2020 @ 1:48 PM, budget jan 1:58 AM. Or, you could be like us and basically throw everything in the Restmüll cans. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. And then there are plenty of other exceptions and side rules…, Ali You’d think trash sorting would be a fairly straightforward process, right? I wonder if that’s to compensate for some garbage employee to separate the trash instead. I am trying to put together a presentation for one of our Councilmen regarding the trash issue in my city and more information on the tiny bins (i.e. 11:01 AM. They are orange, so people notice them better (in other cities they are green or grey). 6:37 PM. They are very green here and all the rubbish gets separated. We live in Berlin now, and I’m finding that even from one apartment complex to another, there are different rules. I’m sorry to make you nervous Jan! The city sends us a magazine each year in December. August 13, 2015 @ Every German we’ve spoken to about trash has a different opinion of what goes into which bin, they can’t seem to agree, despite the yearly magazine we get explaining it all. One is the standard bin with a yellow lid on for recycling cans and bottles and the other one is again a standard bin but with a green lid on it and that’s for stuff from the garden i.e. Your email address will not be published. 7:56 PM. We never got rid of it because…well, because of everything mentioned in this post. This would make a great board game for someone to invent. August 18, 2015 @ Laundry seem annoying at home? 9:27 AM. 6:31 PM. Anne But basically you should put food waste into the bio bin (usually brown), plastic containers in the yellow, paper in the paper bin (usually green but I’ve seen blue ones in some towns), and most everything else in the restmull (usually black). Yeah, the trash rules are so confusing. Liquid Oil and Grease Material Type Quantities Disposal Method; Tiny amounts - frying pans 500 ml or less: Absorb with paper towel or newspaper, kitty litter, sawdust. in my homecountry. Simple. Hi Frances! So I thought I’d share a summary of how to throw out your garbage in Germany. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; So last year, when i was living in Manitoba/Canada for some months and my landlord showed me proudly her three new recycling bins (they slowly start recycling in Canada now) she was kind a disappointed that im allready a professional …, Ali Or that they issue and the grumpy people don ’ t confusing enough already for your sake I! 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