Let's talk about trash....

Ah yes, trash. So much fun. Italy requires you to recycle. There are six categories of trash.

These first three get picked up every other week on a rotating schedule:
1. Plastic & cans
2. Glass
3. Paper and Cardboard

4. Ecocentro (branches, wooden pieces, oils, appliances, old shoes & clothing, old furniture, batteries...you have to bring this stuff to them, there is no pick up.)

5. Humid waste (See below.)
6. Dry waste....everything else essentially. Pick up once a week.

Number 5 is the hardest for me. Food. They want you to recycle food. They even give you a cute little bucket for it. It's smart in theory, it keeps my big trash can from stinking. I discovered really quickly that even though they pick it up twice a week it's almost not enough. At first I had it in my house, but I couldn't stand the smell. So I put it outside, and now it is often times infested with maggots. GROSS. Seriously.

You're supposed to put your humid waste in a biodegradable bag. The ones they sell at the commissary are a bit pricey, and I recently discovered a cheaper option. Every bag I've ever bought from an Italian grocery store (yes they make you buy your bags) has said "biodegradable". And they are only 10 cents! Score!