The trash is a lot greener on the other side

I feel that Europe is a lot “greener” than the United States. Almost all of the laundry is hung to dry. I am not sure if the is a conscious effort or just to save space since a lot of the places people live in the cities are apartments or flats. Either way its very Eco friendly! Also, lots of the lights in apartment buildings are on timers to not waste energy. I think this is a really good idea and it conserves energy and money. However, there is one slight problem with this in the bathrooms in my school. I swear one restroom has a light timer for about a minute and that’s it so that could be frustrating if you have to keep pressing it or it turns off while you washing you hands or something. Another way how it is more Eco friendly here is the public transportation. Madrid has a great metro, train, and bus system. I have also noticed the people here in Europe recycle a lot more than then United States.  All of the trash bins outside of my house are divided into glass, plastic and cartons, organic, and rest of residue.

Mi ropa en mi piso 

It bothers me that a lot of the places in the United States you have to pay for recycling while here it is not only encouraged I feel like it is socially forced. Obviously no one makes you but I feel if you don’t it is socially frowned upon. For example, the first week of class somewhat brought up something about not recycling and my teacher stop what she was doing and asked very seriously with a somewhat mean tone “what? You don’t recycle?” then she asked the rest of the class who doesn't recycle their trash. No one in the class responded but I bet that kid in our class started to recycle. Since I been here I have recycled or tried to when I can. It is a lot easier to when it’s so convenient. There are bin around school, the town, just about everywhere. Another aspect that I believe make Spain greener is the fact that they charge five cents every plastic bag you buy at the grocery store. Because of this I see the majority of people bringing their own bag to the market. I have not bought a reusable grocery bag yet, but when I do go to the store and buy a bag I just don’t throw them away I actually use them as my trash bags.