Global warming and climate change are, therefore, two very worrisome topics to the Swiss, not only because of the long-term global-environmental consequences but also because of the short-term national-economic ones. If the glaciers are melting and the skiing is bad, there will be less and less people visitingthis country . In some parts of the Alps, people are even figuring out how to put sun-reflective tarps over whole glaciers to keep them from melting! But one way everyone in Switzerland pitches in to slow climate change is by recycling.
At every grocery store I’ve been to in Switzerland, there is a big wall with different holes to put all of your recycling into. There are also specific days in the week when trash and recycling are picked up: for instance, where I live, we take the trash out on Mondays and Thursdays, and paper and cardboard on Wednesdays. But if you want your garbage to be picked up, it HAS to be in the official bin bags. You can buy these at the store in different sizes: the smallest bags cost 0.85 CHF/bag (about 90 cents) and the biggest ones cost 5.70 CHF/bag (about $6.00). The reason the smaller bags are so cheap is because the government wants all Swiss citizens to be recycling, and also creating as little trash as possible! And when you’re not near a grocery store, whether you’re in a park or at a restaurant, there are even phone apps that tell you where the nearest recycling station is.
The sorting process for Swiss recycling took a little time for me to learn. You can’t just put plastic in one box and cardboard in another box; first, everything has to be completely washed and rinsed.
