Baslers take conservation very seriously and their method of trash disposal is a perfect example of it. This is complex, so stick with me. The morning of trash day, and certainly not the night before, everybody puts their trash by the curb as you would in the US. However, there are no big trash cans and certainly no random objects intended for the garbage men. The only trash that will be picked up is whatever is put into official garbage bags called "Bebbisaggs". Bebbisaggs are not cheap. I bought a packet of ten small bags yesterday at the grocery store for the equivalent of $15. As a result, I find myself following the ways of the Baslers to do anything I can to minimize the amount of trash I put into a Bebbisagg. It becomes an obsession! I rip up all Kleenex boxes to make them as small as possible. All fruit and veggie remnants go to the compost pile in the back yard. While waiting for a tram, I rummage through my pockets old receipts or food wrappers so I can throw them out in the public garbage cans rather than at home in an expensive Bebbisagg. And of course, I recycle whenever possible. Plastic bottles get returned to the containers in front of every grocery store. Glass bottles (separated by color), aluminum cans, and batteries are taken to the big blue bins down the street (and througout every neighborhood). According to a sign on the glass recycling bins, they can be used only on workdays between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm. This is so you don't disturb the neighbors during quiet hours. Well, I think that's everything. To think that some people wondered what I would do with my time in Basel without a job?