Eco-friendly Germany

One of the things that impressed me the most about Germany was how eco-friendly the whole place is, even more so than Southern California, which is probably more environmentally conscious than the rest of the United States.

Obviously, public transportation, which I wrote about last week, plays a big role in reducing the number of cars on the road. And if you do drive, public parking isn't cheap. Additionally, in many bigger cities, you actually have to purchase a special "environmental sticker" for your car to be allowed to drive there.

In Muenster especially, bicycles are a prominent form of transportation as well. There is a saying that goes something like "Every person in Muenster is born on a bicycle", a testament to the number of bikes in the city. I remember borrowing one and using it to get around during one of the first times I visited our old family friends there:

1998

Then there's recycling. Germans really take the concept to a new level with not just separating general trash from recyclable goods, but divvying up the various recycling categories, as well. Typically, the division runs like this: one bin for bio-waste that can be used for composting, one bin for regular waste, a bin for paper, a bin for plastics/packaging, and a bin for glass (which, even then, can be further subdivided according to color of glass).

It can be dizzying, but it's pretty impressive! We could stand to learn a thing or two from our neighbors on this little planet! :-)

I'm posting every day in October as part of the 31-Day Writing Challenge. Click here to read more about it and to see the rest of my posts this month!