From Memphis to California to Brussels, each place has a unique waste collection program from my experience. In comparison, Brussels is the most specific one by far!
In Brussels, waste is collected very categorically. There are four categories with specific bag colors: landfill (white), plastic (blue), paper (yellow) and compost (orange). While walking, I see other colors such as pink and brown; these seem to indicate commercial waste. In my area, blue and white are collected on Mondays and white and yellow are picked up on Thursdays. You just leave the bags on the side of the street after 6:00 PM on the previous evening. There are no storage bins to use here!
Brussels and Europe more broadly are very environmentally conscious and focused on proper waste reduction and management. For example, if even one thing is incorrect in the bag, it goes to the landfill pile.
Working at a sustainability-focused firm, my colleagues are very conscious of it. For the most part, people try to do the right thing and categorize trash correctly. When in doubt though, the landfill bag is your default option.
