Posted on 05/24/2011 9:41:11 PM PDT by Ari Bussel
Recycling By Ari Bussel
Twice I encountered the same older lady on the bus from Jerusalem. It was late at night and she was returning carrying heavy bags. The bus driver later explained she is a regular. She would spend a few hours a day on the bus collecting bottles for recycling, thus supplementing her fixed income from the Israeli equivalent of Social Security.
The bus driver continued: “We (the drivers) also do so (collect bottles) intermittently.” I was surprised for they usually enjoy a good salary, stable employment and various benefits. “Indeed,” he replied, “but half my salary goes for mortgage, the other half for my two kids.”
One receives NIS0.30 per bottle, and small change adds up.
I discovered a related, though quite different phenomenon at the old Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv. Once a bustling center of activity, today it is a place where homeless people, drug addicts and women of the night congregate. Saddening, yet quite a fascinating visit to discover the relationship between the various “inhabitants” of the area. There are also very many foreign workers living there in crowded conditions and some businesses still remaining, primarily in the shoe import business.
On one corner there is a recycling “wholesale” businesses. The homeless and others bring the bottles there for recycling. They receive twenty-seven Israeli “cents” per bottle, or ten percent less than what they would receive if they took the bottles for recycling at an official center.
These three Israeli “cents” per bottle translate into a flourishing business of millions. It must be seen to be believed. Never underestimate the power of convenience, volume and even small change from recycling.
But probably the most eye-pleasing transformation or expression of recycling are the cages placed throughout streets in Israel. Once these were huge green metal bins to which one would deposit newspapers. As children, Israelis grew up taking all paper products to these bins stationed at the corner of each street.
The print on these bins said they benefit the Israeli Defense Forces, and Israelis who are huge consumers of print media were very loyal with their help. It was an attitude that showed the power of education. “Recycle because it is good,” creating a benefit for someone else. The force of habit.
I do not know if municipalities moved to post-recycling (taking all garbage together and recycling it at the transfer centers (from the trash collecting trucks, before being taken to landfills) or if the privatization many years ago made the system less attractive to its operators. There are still some of these green bins remaining, but not as many as in the past.
Replacing them at the corner of many streets are huge metal cages, several feet wide, several feet in length and several feet high, they are like small rooms with round windows via which one deposits plastic bottles.
The 1.5 liter bottles, most common in Israel, do not accrue a recycling fee. Yet, Israelis religiously deposit them, along with all other plastic containers, in these metal cages. Then, every so often, a large truck arrives and “sucks” the bottles from within the cages.
These front-line recycling locations are not really an eye-sore, do not smell (as trash cans sometimes do), require very little maintenance, offer complete visibility of the contents and are a destination for the neighborhood kids who come alone, or oftentimes with their parents to deposit the bottles.
Again, there is no monetary benefit, just the force of habit.
In Tel Aviv I saw a wonderful expression of art. There were giraffes extending their long necks from these cages. There were other animals also, made from plastic containers, turning these bins into an “urban zoo.”
Not an eyesore, but an exciting example of how with a little ingenuity, a bit of effort and a creative eye, an everyday sight can become a pleasing and inviting tourist attraction.
Next time you are in Israel pay attention to these small, mundane details. Discover a world you never expected.
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The series “Postcards from America—Postcards from Israel” by Ari Bussel and Norma Zager is a compilation of articles capturing the essence of life in America and Israel during the first two decades of the 21st Century.
The writers invite readers to view and experience an Israel and her politics through their eyes, Israel visitors rarely discover.
This point—and often—counter-point presentation is sprinkled with humor and sadness and attempts to tackle serious and relevant issues of the day. The series began in 2008, appears both in print in the USA and on numerous websites and is followed regularly by readership from around the world.
© “Postcards from America — Postcards from Israel,” May, 2011 Contact: bussel@me.com
First Published May 21, 2011
Wonderful post.
Interesting.
To see things through another, yet somewhat understandable, perspective is enlightening. And even this brief missive is certainly food for thought.
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