Sep

1

Texaid Collection

Filed Under Home Management, Law & Order, Society & Culture, Swissness | 14 Comments

This time around, the specific instruction was to throw in any pair of shoes into our Texaid plastic bag except for my “Spiderman shoes” (i.e. a pair of black, suede Nike sneakers without shoestrings, especially designed for city walking). It was a special footwear he bought for me that beautifully matched my black Spiderman shirt.

“Please…don’t give your Spiderman shoes away,” my husband begged me two weeks ago when I was rummaging through our closets for secondhand clothing and shoes to give away to TEXAID.

And so, my two-year-old Spiderman shoes are staying with me, by virtue of a husband’s plea.

Today, the TEXAID people are scheduled to collect sealed TEXAID plastic bags full of used shoes, handbags, clothing, kitchen towels, blankets, cleaning rags, and all sorts of usable fabric in our area. I’ve reminded my husband not to forget to take out our two big TEXAID bags and place them on the sidewalk facing our apartment building lest we miss again the opportunity to have our bags collected, like last time. The collectors do the rounds usually in the morning.

Inside our goodwill bags are slightly used shirts, pants (I found out that my waistline measurement has greatly increased, thanks to a terrible lack of exercise and a huge intake of Swiss chocolate drinks), sweaters, jackets, and shoes. They are all in good condition; TEXAID, after all, does not encourage donations of the wornout kind.

TEXAID is a partnership of six relief organizations, which aim to collect and process used clothing all over Switzerland. The following relief organizations are part of TEXAID: Swiss Red Cross, Swiss Workers Relief Organisation, Winterhilfe Schweiz, Caritas Switzerland, Union of Evangelical Churches, and Swiss Kolpingwerk.

Every now and then, residents of Switzerland receive neatly folded TEXAID bags in their mailboxes with specific instructions what and what not to give to the organization. Many welcome these bags as a nice way to give to charity and, at the same time, to declutter their space-challenged closets and shoeracks already bursting with new acquisitions from previous seasons.

For our part, we are surprised that we can still fill these TEXAID bags to maximum capacity despite the fact that we don’t buy clothes and shoes on a regular basis. In fact, we still have a generic plastic bag full of sweaters and winter jackets — a collection we intend to give to a church in Ukraine one day.

This month, I had to let go of my pairs of jeans rendered unusable by my bulging tummy (no, I’m not pregnant). And yes, I also had to bid “Adieu” to my favorite Clarks shoes just because they hurt my feet so bad only after using them the third time that I declared this particular pair “unfit to serve my walking purposes.”

But, despite causing my feet to sweat and smell real bad after a day’s use, I’m not supposed to part with my Spiderman shoes, for reasons even my husband could not articulate. Maybe, the Spiderman shirt has to go the next time a new TEXAID bag arrives. It goes well with the shoes of contention.

RANDOM TIP: Sort out your clothing and shoe collection every now and then. Give to charity those that you don’t use so much anymore yet are still in good condition. Filipinos abroad can bless the poor in the Philippines by sending “balikbayan” boxes of recyclable goods (including books and educational materials) to needy communities.

Feb

28

Trash Talk

Filed Under Consumer Concerns, Home Management, Law & Order, Society & Culture, Swissness | 13 Comments


Somebody in the neighborhood did it again: dumping household rubbish in the public trash bin by the bus stop using “unofficial bags” — that is, a worn-out Denner paper shopping bag and a generic plastic bag. Both were filled to the brim with household waste such as empty food packs, crumpled table napkins, slimy food leftovers, and bits of plastic wrappings here and there.

It’s strictly forbidden in Switzerland to indiscriminately get rid of trash in such an irresponsible way. People caught in the act can be fined up to CHF100.00 (USD76.00). So those who commit this “crime” know full well what they’re up against every time they sneak out of their homes at the darkest hour of the night to take their unofficial bags of rubbish to the nearest public trash bin. Timing is essential for these “trash criminals.”

Official trash bags in Switzerland, which come in various sizes, carry a tax and cost from CHF2.00 or USD 1.50 (35 liter) to CHF6.00 or USD4.60 (110 liter) each, depending on their size. These special bags are printed with the community name and are sold in local supermarkets. For our household, we buy a 10-piece bundle of 35 Lt. rubbish bags for CHF15.00 (USD11.45). Usually, this is already good for a month (that is, for a household of two). But then again, all depends on how much waste we produce in a given period. Being a fan of food items boxed up (e.g. Dr. Oetker’s ready-made cake mix and Kellogg’s Frosties), I naturally throw much more trash of the bulky kind than the average housekeeper.

Some two years ago, despite being a law-abiding resident of Switzerland, I became the prime suspect of our apartment’s caretaker in a rubbish-related “crime”: an unofficial, non-taxed trash bag without a stamp was dumped in the apartment’s large trash bin. The caretaker’s choice of suspect was something race-based, I thought (I was the only non-Swiss citizen in the block). That notwithstanding, I felt I had to clear my name. And through my husband’s English-to-Swiss German translation, I told the Swiss caretaker that I was not guilty as charged; that we had always used the official bags. The “detective” soon dropped the case.

Last summer, while on volunteer work in Ukraine, I had to adapt to a totally different waste disposal system. So used I was with the Swiss way of throwing things that my American flatmate might have found it ludicrous when I asked her where I could buy official Ukrainian trash bags. She responded: “I’m the waste disposal system,” showing a flimsy, green shopping bag. The next day, on our way to the mini supermarket in the neighborhood, she hurled in a matter-of-factly manner two plastic bags of rubbish into the apartment’s large garbage bin. In the next weeks to come, I did the same. I somehow enjoyed the experience. For a moment there, I felt relieved to get rid of personal trash in a less complicated way (just like in Manila). No official trash bags to think of for seven weeks.

However, this is not to say, that I don’t like the Swiss trash disposal system. On the contrary, I admire the way the Swiss treat their waste; it’s highly systematic. All communities publish and distribute a waste collection plan to Swiss households. The plan includes collection schedules for different types of waste like old newspapers, bottles, tins, and furniture. Used batteries and light bulbs can be dropped at depots located in supermarkets. Organic waste (e.g. vegetables) and garden rubbish can be collected in green trash bins, and used as compost later on. Expired medicines should be returned to pharmacies for proper disposal. The plan is comprehensive and covers all types of waste disposal. So, you see, it’s really organized. Who wouldn’t be impressed?

With the way the local Swiss “rubbish detectives” can track down a trash criminal, I wouldn’t be caught dead taking my unofficial household waste to the public bin. A CHF100.00 fine is no laughing matter. Besides, I’ve always been a law-abiding citizen (resident), who gives to Caesar what is due to Caesar.

RANDOM TIP: Categorize your trash accordingly. If your government doesn’t have an effective waste disposal system, maybe it’s time to lobby for one.

Next Page →