Earth Day is a day on which we should think about our home, planet Earth. We should always consider recyling, reusing what we own, and reducing our consumption, but on April 22 every year we should especially do that.

I live in a country which takes recycling very seriously. Switzerland relies on its citizens to 'do the right thing' by recycling and separating its waste. In my small town alone, 30,000 inhabitants (= people living in the city), we have 65 recycling areas to bring our sorted garbage to.

The Swiss make recycling attractive by charging a 'garbage tax' on all trash which has not been sorted. So our garbage bags cost us SFr 2.50/bag (= about 450 JPY). If we recycle in any of the 65 recycling areas, though, we do not pay for our trash. 50% of all trash in the country is recycled. Certain items are recylced a lot, for instance we recycle 80% of the paper and cardboard we use. 

In my home, I separate:
paper, cardboard, glass, plastic drinking bottles, metal, ceramic (broken dishes), organic material (for composting), batteries, old and broken electronic items, cork (from wine bottles), chemicals (like old medicine or cleaning supplies), wood, oil (used cooking oil or car oil), aluminum cans, tin cans, etc. There is very little which isn't returned to the recycling center, which I go to about once every 10 days.

Other people recycle their coffee capsules, ecigarttes, and printer cartridges, but I don't use them. If I get a new pair of glasses (for my eyes), I recylce my old ones, as well. At the larger recycling centers we have 2nd hand shops, which take gently used items we might want to get rid of. For example the shoes I bought, but rarely wore.

I also reuse cloth shopping bags, try to extend the life of my used items by sewing clothing items when they are torn or worn out, buy used furniture and household items, use our public library instead of buying new books, consult groups online which share items such as extra blankets or children's toys when you have guests, etc. In addition to taking the excellent public transportation whenever I can, we have a fantastic car-sharing service in Switzerland which my family uses. We are three drivers, but only own one car.  

Finally I try to reduce my consumpution by thinking twice before driving our car, before booking a flight, and before buying unnecessary items. And I walk almost everywhere, if I can.

Come to Switzerland to see how they are protecting our home. Or book a lesson with me to discuss our home countries and how they are different and how they are alike.