It’s the Little Things – Calendars and Garbage

Today was just another normal day for us in Switzerland. In many ways, our life here is similar to what it was in America – kids go to school, Joe goes to work, there is housework, playdates, homework, shopping. And yet, there are so many little ways in which it is different. And when all the little differences are added up, it gives a picture of what it means to live in another culture and country. So, this is the first of an occasional series I call “It’s the Little Things” that will highlight some of the ways things are different here.

Advent Calendars – I’ve seen Advent calendars in America. In fact, we have one that has 24 felt characters that go onto a manger scene. But, here, Advent calendars are everywhere. Counting down from December 1st to the 24th is an important part of the Christmas season. The Brumanns, our friends from Basel, sent each of our kids an Advent calendar with paper doors that open to reveal pictures. They said their children used to have them every year and always looked forward to opening the doors. I didn’t think opening little one-inch square doors to see a picture would be that exciting, but my kids love them! They can hardly wait to open the next door. James also made another one at school with his own pictures behind each of the doors. Since today was December 1st, the kids finally got to open the first doors, and for the next 23 days, they will giddily open four doors on our Advent calendars, just like Swiss children have done for generations.

At school, the kids also have a form of an Advent calendar. There are small gifts for every school day between now and Christmas, and every day they pick the name of a student out of a bag. The lucky child gets to select a gift to open and keep.

Garbage – I know, I know… who wants to read about garbage?! But, I actually think the handling of garbage is a window into cultural values.

There are 7 categories of garbage here: plastic recyclables, paper recyclables, other recyclables, yard waste, compostable garbage, bread, and everything else. Regular garbage goes into specific mandatory municipal garbage bags that are available at the store, and are priced not just for the bags themselves, but for the volume of garbage they hold. Since garbage collection is not paid for entirely by taxes here, this is one of the ways they cover the costs while encouraging people to limit their waste.

Limiting waste is important here, and there are many ways people do this, but my favorite involves old bread. We’ve mentioned before that nearly all the bread is fresh bakery bread that only lasts for about 36 hours, which not only means that we have to buy bread just about every day, but it also means there can be a lot of rock hard bread crusts and end pieces left over. Interestingly, the bread does not mold, it just gets hard. Our landlady gave us specific instructions about what to do with all of our bread scraps: “feed them to the ducks.” So, about once a week, we go on an expedition looking for ducks on one of the creeks near our house. And today we hit the jackpot! While Emily was at school in the afternoon, James and Henry and I found about 40 ducks eager to eat our bread crumbs. So eager they were even jumping up on the steps where we were sitting. A couple times, they snatched pieces right out of James’s hands. It was the highlight of our afternoon. (Meanwhile, I gave Emily 4 Swiss Francs, and on her way home from school, she stopped in the local family-run butcher shop/market and bought a loaf of bread to bring home. I love that my 7-year-old can do that!)

There are no garbage disposals here, but throwing biodegradable food waste in the garbage is not ideal. Many people, including us, put food waste into a compost bin. Ours is outside next to our garden. Any outdoor waste that is too big for the compost bin goes in the green plastic garbage container for industrial compost that gets picked up occasionally, though I haven’t figured out exactly when. My goal has always been to fill the green container every time, as there is a lot of pruning and weeding that goes on to maintain the extensive gardens here.

In order to recycle things like glass, metal, batteries, etc. we have to haul it (by bike, of course) to a recycling station about 4 blocks from our house and sort it into the appropriate materials and colors. Plastic bottles go to a different recycling station by the grocery store. Paper must be tied up with string or put in paper bags and put out at the curb every other Monday.

Joe tells me that the the Inselspital where he works burns all of its garbage in a special
incinerator that generates power back to the hospital. No waste there!

The fact that these systems work so well here, especially the recycling and required garbage bags, is a testament to Swiss reliability, morality, and environmental consciousness. When they are told to do something, they do it. And for now, so do we.