Oma's Pages #20

Oma’s Pages #20

The garbage was another interesting adventure. Some people in Groningen can put out garbage cans like we do in Utah, but mostly that is something only for businesses. The rest of the people have to take their garbage to a garbage location. There is usually one somewhere on the street close to where you live.

When we first arrived at Albertine Agnesstraat there was garbage in the kitchen garbage can so I asked a man who was helping us how to get rid of the garbage. He looked around a bit and then said, “Just bag it up and put it in the shed behind your apartment and forget about it.”

At the Church you have to walk down the street about a block, then turn the corner and walk halfway up another street to get to the garbage place.

As you can see in the picture, the garbage place thingy is closed and you cannot get into it unless you have a pass card.

Part of your expenses for living in a city is to have one of the pass cards so you can get rid of your garbage. But even that is not exactly correct. Here in Groningen you cannot put anything that is glass in the garbage. If you get caught putting glass in the garbage you will be fined 65 euros which is $92.00 in US money. You have to take your glass to a glass garbage place. You can find a glass garbage place near by some of the grocery stores or shopping centers. At the glass garbage place you have to sort your glass by green, brown, or clear glass and put your glass in the appropriate slot.

Your city garbage pass allows you to put garbage in the containers 200 times in one year. This is about twice a week. You can only put one large bag in the container at a time. All of this is very different from how it is in the USA.

Do you help do the garbage at your house? What do you do to help?