Belgium Diary Day 1: Ah, recycling, being ecological, what a great feeling it is to help take care of Mother Earth… I feel so glad to be doing my part to make the world a better place.
Belgium Diary Day 9: I wonder what I should do with this glass container… Maybe the blue garbage bag? No… yellow? No, that picture on there looks like it's saying no glass…
Belgium Diary Day 15: No more garbage bags… how much do they cost? Where do I buy the yellow ones?
Belgium Diary Day 18: Hmmm… no more space in current yellow garbage bag. Must carry it downstairs. Wonder which day I should carry it down? Wonder where to buy more? There's no yellow garbage bag aisle in the shop!
Belgium Diary Day 20: Okay. Found solution. There is a public garbage bin down the road. Must leave out a little early so that nobody gives me any funny looks when I throw the bag of garbage into the bin. It's not that much. Just banana peels and things that would make the apartment smell for days otherwise.
Belgium Diary Day 22: Aha! I have purchased garbage bags!
Belgium Diary Day 24: Where do glass containers go?!
Belgium Diary Day 29: I could probably make charming little candle holders out of the six glass containers I have on the counter… Or, maybe put jewellery in them… or even use them as cups! I could serve tea with them—it would be very Bohemian. People would say, "Wow! How clever!" And if they didn't like it I could look at them in a withering way and comment on how they are feeding the consumerism that has made modern culture so destructive. I would be an absolute ecological pioneer! I might even start a movement, maybe make a blog about all the different uses I have for my different glass jars. Yes! I don't need to throw them out, that was the old me. The new, ecological me doesn't need IKEA cups with fancy patterns. I could paint the glass jars with my own patterns… Wow, being ecological has opened my eyes to so many different possibilities!
Belgium Diary Day 32: I've started using one of the nicer glass jars to hold change. I will probably use the coins in there to purchase new trash bags whenever necessary. One jar down, eight to go!
Belgium Diary Day 44: Help! Scary glass jar build-up is now beginning to take over the kitchen counter. Why are there 13 empty jars there, I don't have any use for them! Maybe I could drop them in the public bin? No, the noise would definitely draw disapproval…
Belgium Diary Day 47: I went into the kitchen last night. I'm pretty sure the jars whispered something. I think the tiny bits of food residue are beginning to evolve into microbial colonies… soon they'll start speaking…
Belgium Diary Day 52: Help. Help help helppleasehelptheywon'tstopcallingmehel…
Moral: Belgians value trees more than their own sanity.
