RECYCLING WOES!

I'm very pleased to say that in Nova Scotia recycling is manditory. But, I'll also be the first to admit that it's not easy sometimes to determine what's blue bag (recylable), compost or ordinary waste. So - if I can't get it right myself, you can imagine how hard it is to explain the rules of recycling to a visitor from "away". First there's a myriad of bags to choose from: kitchen-sized biodegradable bags, for compost,(including meat and bones!); brown paper bags for large compost carts, blue -or clear - bags for recyclables; black bags for ordinary garbage (what some Americans call "trash"); and orange bags for yard waste. Whew! No wonder there's a whole aisle in the grocery store for bags!!

My first renter (from Arizona and here for 3 months) had lots questions for me when she moved in, but first on the list was garbage collection. I did my best to explain, and had all the supplies in place for each container, but the first collection day is coming up on Tuesday and I'm anxious to hear how she made out.

Believe it or not there is a person hired by the Municipality who travels the highways and byways on collection day and inspects random containers along the route for violations. If you've been "bad" your garbage is rejected and a large green sticker is emblazoned on your container stating so. Locals "fondly" refer to him as the "Garbage Nazi", not unlike Kramer's "Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld. And he strikes about the same amount of fear into the hearts of the residents! Let's just hope that he doesn't appear on my renter's first collection day - She's supposed to be relaxing, not stressing out!!