Prior to arriving in DE I had a system for rubbish in my car. Upon arrival at my destination, I would remove any garbage that had accumulated during the errand and deposit at a receptacle where I exited my vehicle (I eschew trash bags in vehicles unless the road trip is longer than three hours in which case the offspring can generate enough rubbish to make the Indian from the 70s commercial cry again).
The system does not work in Germany. Running into the Netto or Rewe grocery store and want to throw some trash away? Good luck, no trash cans.
On a military installation? Sure, there’s a dumpster right over there but wait, they put a MasterLock on the lid so good luck there.
I think this issue was best summed up by an exchange among Hohenfels spouses. A spouse was complaining that the small receptacle at the post playground was overflowing with garbage, causing bees to swarm the area. This created a hazard for the small children playing there as a number were stung.
Side note. We all know how important bees are in the ecosystem with their responsibilities pollinating. Deutschland has taken that to a new level and the way Germans tell it, all bees are protected all the time. In fact if you want to remove a beehive you call your local fire department or local bee guy to do it. Forget buying a can of wasp spray from the local hardware store. The funny thing is, and I swear this is true, it’s cause the bees in Deutschland to be super aggressive. You can swat them and they come right back at you. As I tell my Deutsche friends, if you started killing them when they annoyed you, maybe they would be a little more afraid of you and keep their distance.
Back to the playground. A Deutsche spouse chimed in (there are many Deutsche spouses to United States service members) that if only Americans would take their garbage home with them this would solve the problem. They wanted the receptacle removed and wanted all the users of the playground to transport the garbage kilometers back to their house.
Interesting difference in perspectives. Americans wanting additional service emptying the trash receptacle that is overflowing and the Deutsche perspective that the trash can never should have been placed there in the first place.
In the end, I think it was the home school mom group that pushed for the playground years ago so in some crazy alternative reality they were responsible for emptying the trash.
So blame it on the home school crowd.
