Mounds of "Trash"

This morning we regretfully had to throw out our trash. For several days now the kitchen counter had been getting smaller and smaller, as the ever growing collection of bottles and cans grew. I had heard upon arriving at a friend's house last week that there was no recycling program in New Caledonia, yet we held hope that we would hear tell of one...until today. I guess it may be hard for such a small country (population 250,000; size, about that of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland) to find a use for all the cans and bottles as we do in Canada and much of the world. But then, sometimes I think that alot of the recycling we do in Canada is a fraud, and mostly ends up in the land-fills anyway....especially being the Pepsi drinking culture that we are.

Although there is no program, it seems the waste generated is alot less that would be in Canada anyway. For example, you cannot get plastic/disposable bags in the grocery store (you must buy the re-usable ones), most fresh food (fruits, veggies, and meats) are bought at the market with minimal to no packaging, and fast food is virtually (except for Ronald's) non existant. But with that being said, I'm sure the wine bottles generated alone would be close to that of the entire country of Canada!

I hope that in the future New Caledonia does find some means of dealing with their recycables, because being a bit of a tree hugger, I find it hard throwing them in the trash.