After having done a significant amount of work in sustainability and recycling in college, I find it very interesting to see what other cultures do when it comes to dealing with their waste. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Italy has taken huge steps in ensuring that their environment is being taken care of. According to my host family, Italy outlawed plastic garbage bags in 2007. In fact, when I went to a local electronic store to buy an electrical adaptor, they resued an old plastic bag that they already had. When I came home with this bag, the daughter told me not to throw it away because they would reuse it for the reycling. The only bags that are legally available for purchase in grocery stores are the kind that are biodegratable. I used to use these biodegratable bags in the states, but they are much harder to find and are typically more expensive than what we traditionally use.
Also, all waste services have been taken over by the country of Italy... Meaning tax dollars are used to provide garbage, recycling, AND compost services for the entire country. Every few blocks or so, there are dumpsters lined up on the side of the road which is where we "take out the garbage."
While I don't necessarily agree with the idea of letting the government take over providing services such as these, I do think that offering insentives for being more environmentally conscious would not only encourage better waste behavior and awareness, but would also be a great step toward better legislation as well!
.... just something to ponder...
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