How much thought do you put into throwing out your trash? Do you take time considering which bin to throw things in: garbage or recycling? But what if there were more than two bins? South Korea is known for having a very thorough and environmentally friendly trash system. There is a category for everything and a separate bin for everything. One thing I was warned about when I moved to South Korea was to be very careful to follow the trash separation rules. If you get it wrong, you could get fined or, in some cases, have a very angry landlord. In order to prevent those of you who dream of coming to South Korea from being too confused, let's talk about South Korea's trash sorting system!
I know trash does not sound like a very fun topic. For some of you, taking out the trash may be your least favorite chore. But, unfortunately, someone has to do it. Waste disposal is an important part of public health and safety. (Fun fact: in Edinburgh, Scotland, there used to be a lake made entirely of human waste because people would dump their toilet buckets onto the street! Was that fact not fun?) In the end, we need to do something about trash. It can't just be sitting there; we would run out of space for people very quickly if we just left all of the trash on the ground. So what do we do with it?
