RUSSIA – When my relatives from Germany came to visit us about 3 years ago, they were very surprised when they learned that garbage is not recycled in our country, Russia. They are accustomed to the fact that in every house or apartment there are several bins for separate collection.
Supermarkets in Europe motivate people to hand over plastic for recycling. In almost any supermarket, you can come with used plastic bottles, load them into a special machine and it will give you a small bonus for further purchases in the supermarket. The person is satisfied: he did something good for the planet, and also received a material bonus. Only benefits.
Unfortunately, things are much worse in Russia. The fact is that the state is not interested in recycling waste, and private companies are developing this business with great difficulty. Mostly due to lack of funding.
The average citizen of the country cannot just go to the common trash bins and throw out the pre-sorted garbage, because there are no such containers.
And then, in order to “rationally” get rid of the garbage, you have to look for special places where you can do it, which are not so many in cities. And basically, they are located in hard-to-reach places for people who do not have their own car.
In Moscow, the topic of recycling is the most developed and there are more private companies that are doing it. In St. Petersburg it is more difficult.
There are only a few ways to send garbage for recycling: call a special “taxi” that will pick up everything unnecessary for a payment, once a month bring garbage to special collection points around the city, which are organized by a volunteer organization, or bring sorted garbage to the collection points of the Ikea store.
Usually, I choose the latter option, but since I don’t have my own transport, this is very problematic. I need to keep a large amount of plastic and other materials on my balcony, and then take it to the other side of town. This is inconvenient, but for now, this is the only way out.
What is the bottom line, I would like to sum up from everything written above: do not think that the planet in which we live now, will always be in the same condition as now.
It is always worth assuming that nature’s resources are not endless, and that everyone can take care of it and contribute.
If you are not yet ready to sort the trash, you can always take your tissue bag or reusable thermo coffee mug with you. These are small, but extremely important steps to conscious consumption.
It is possible, that at first, it will be difficult and all this will seem pointless, but the main thing – is not to quit! Then you will get used to it and it will be easier. Some things will be received automatically and this way of life will become usual.
