"Green" City

Dublin claims to be a green city. That is, it is trying to "reduce, reuse, recycle." As part of this plan, Dublin area residents are charged to remove their rubbish. There is supposed to be recycling in apartment buildings as well. For me, the rubbish charge is 2.65 a bag! So, what many people do, including me, is use regular garbage bags and then put them into huge ones and pay the 2.65 to dispose of the huge bag because it doesn't matter what size the bag is. The bags that John and I found fit three regular sized (not small) full trash bags. We then have to put a sticker with our address on the garbage and put it out of our apartment. So, because it is expensive to get rid of my trash, I create more trash and reduce my cost. An added drawback to the charge for trash removal is that there are about 10 bags of garbage in the "entrance way" to my building. That is to say, there is a pile of bags of garbage near the stairs leading to the apartments but they are still technically outside since the not all of the entry way is enclosed and it isn't heated.

Also, I don't have recycling bins in my building. As of yet, I have not been able to find a place to recycle or how to get the tags that have to go on recycling. I believe I would also have to pay for the recycling. There are very few public recyling bins. This also means that when I drink a bottle of juice, I have to throw it in the garbage bin, not a recycling bin like in some other cities. It also means that when people throw away the free newspapers given out every morning (if they throw them away instead of leaving them on the bus, train, or on the ground) they go in the bin. Not recycled. I would like to think that someone sorts through the trash and recycles what can be but I doubt it.

While I am on the topic (sort of) people also throw their rubbish on the ground instead of in the trash bins provided. I have seen people just drop their trash on the ground right in front of the bin! I just don't understand why people are so bloody lazy.

In order for this city to be green in the recycling sense, it has a long way to go.