You know, when I was living in Russia I thought it was probably the most communist-reminisant place I'd ever call home...well, that was true until I moved to Belgium.
Specifically today I am talking about the KBG enforced, mandatory recylcing. They MAKE you recylce here. Ugh. Yuck. Nothing against recycling, but please stay out of my trash. I'll save the planet if I want to. Here's how they do it: The garbage men will only collect trash that is placed in special bags; four colors: blue, yellow, white and red, for each kind of recycling. Well, you have to buy them from the store and they are massively expensive. As in, more than $1 per bag!!! They charge you up the wazoo to throw trash away, and if you don't put things in the right bag they will stick a big red "rejected" sticker on the bag and just leave it on your curb. They actually go through your trash to make sure you are recycling. Kill me now. I'm ready to buy a shot gun and a plot of land and just move to Wyoming. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a planet-hater or anything like that, but I prefer to be inspired and motivated to recycle rather than absolutely forced. 4 Different kids of bags, and 6 different types of glass that MUST be separated or they won't touch it. Not even at $1 per small bag. Not even inspite of the nearly 55% in income tax that people here pay for these benefits.
So, the next time you're in Belgium remember to shred everything remotely associated to yourself and recycle meticulously because the government WILL be going through your trash.
