Rubbish

Every day I take my rubbish downstairs and put it in the bin.

Today I did just this, however when I came back from the gym I saw the 'girls' going through my rubbish. Astonished by this I asked them what where they doing. They speak about the same amount of English as I do Chinese. Another foreign teacher came out to find out what all the commotion was. I explained that they were going through my rubbish and I wanted to know why.

This foreigner told me that they were supplementing their income. They actually go through your rubbish and collect things to recycle. They were quite amazed by my curiosity and couldn't believe that we didn't do the same in Australia.

I somehow tried to explain to them that we did recycle, but it is collected once a week by the council. The council takes it to a recycling station where it is sorted.

I then further explained to them that I would sort my recycling and put it in the store room for them. Saving them from a filthy job of having to go through my rubbish. I also told them that I would ask the other foreigners to do the same. I hope other are of the same opinion as me, ie that the 'girls' should not have to do something that is so degrading just to make an income.

It is not uncommon to see people on a bicycle with a tray attached with a huge load containing plastic bottles or cardboard. The load in most instances is that high we would be booked in Australia for overloading. I have no idea where they take the loads and can now only assume they get paid for it.