Ulm Garbage Categories

Yellow Sack, Yellow Barrel

This is the category for things made from recyclable materials. All of the packages of things I bought at the grocery store are marked with a symbol that indicates it can be disposed of in this category. You put these items in yellow sacks or barrels at the curb to be picked up.

Yellow-lidded barrel Aluminium. Cans. Disposable dishes. Bottles (plastic). Foil (plastic). Yogurt cartons. Coffee packaging. Bottle corks. Milk product cartons. Milk bags. Plastic bags. Juice bags. Styrofoam1. Tetrapack2. Tubes. Combined packages.

Biogarbage

This is the category for biological materials. You put these in brown containers to be picked up.

Brown barrel Balcony plants. Egg cartons and fruit cartons(?) made of paper maché. Eggshells. Grass. Hairs, cushioning. Hedge cuttings. Wood wool. Coffee filters. Manure pellets of rabbits, guinea pigs3, birds. Foliage. Orange peels. Fruit and vegetable residues. Absorbent paper as well as filter paper, kitchen paper, or napkins. Bush cuttings. Ruined, molded bread, meat, sausage, or cheese residues.

Scrap Glass Container

Unlike the above materials, glass is not picked up at the curb. You take it to collection bins, which are distributed around the city. However, they are not common, and I could not find any in my neighborhood until I asked a neighbor.

White, brown, and green glass bins Brown glass. Green glass. White (clear?) glass.
No window glass, that goes to the recycling yard.

Scrap Paper Container

Like glass, scrap paper is taken to collection bins.

Paper bins Scrap paper. Envelopes. Pamphlets. Printed matter. Through-colored paper. Grey and white boxes. Catalogs. Flour and sugar paper bags. Letter paper. Fax paper. Frozen food packaging. Detergent cartons. Newspapers, periodicals.

Recycling Yard

These items have to be taken to the recycling yard.

Bins in recycling yard Scrap fat, scrap clothes. Scrap metal, scrap paper. Batteries. Construction refuse. Books. Paint and varnish. Garden refuse. Glass. Household cleaners. Wood, wood-cleaners. Cable. Cartons. Glue. Corks. Lyes. Light packaging. Fluorescent tubes. Solvent. Lacquer. Cardboard. Plastic foil. Acids. Shoes. Food fats, oils. Bulky garbage. Spraycans. Syringes. Styrofoam1. Wallpaper.

Remainder Trashcan

This is the category for everything else.

Black barrel Documents. Ash (cold). Diskettes, CDs, cassettes. Disposable lighters. Meat or cheese foil. Photos, film negatives. Light bulbs. Rubber. Hygiene articles. Stray cats4. Dirt. Toys. Carbon paper. Condoms. Ballpoint pen refills. Plastic bowls. Leather. Rags. Medicines. Letter utensils. Vacuum cleaner bags. Material remainder (small). Wallpaper remainder. Handkerchiefs. Wax. Diapers. Toothbrushes. Cigarette butts.

Notes:

1Styrofoam is in two categories. I do not know why.

2I have not been able to translate Tetrapack. One of the juice cartons is labeled Tetra Pak, but I do not know what makes it different from the other cartons.

3The word for guinea pigs, Meerschweinchen, literally means little sea pigs.

4The best interpretation I could make of Katzenstreu was "stray cats." Katzen is she-cats, and streu is stray. Eventually, somebody told me Katzenstreu is kitty litter.

© Copyright 2002 by Eric Postpischil.