And all this just for a wheelie bin…

You’d think it would be easy really. In Addlestone, we had a wheelie bin into which we put our rubbish. On Wednesdays the bin men would come and take the rubbish away (with Max waving excitedly and wildly at his dirty heroes through the window). It’s not exactly rocket science.

In Neutraubling however, our quest to dispose of our unwanted items begins at the local town hall. Room number 8. Second floor. Bit like the Soviet Union really, only smarter. Here we are told that, in order to get a bin, we firstly have to get our landlord to sign a form giving us permission to get one (as opposed to having rotting food and newspapers piling up around us in our lovely well-kept property like Mr Trevas I suppose). Once we have completed this form, we have to decide what size bin we want. Different sized bins not only cost different amounts to purchase (yes you do actually have to go to a garden-centre to buy your own wheelie bin) but your monthly council fee varies according to the size of your bin too! Once you have purchased your bin and got your special permission from the landlord, you go back to the town hall to get your special bin licence number (like a little registration plate for your bin). But, what if you change your mind after 6 months when you realise that your bin is overflowing with nappies because you were too tight to buy a bigger one? Then you have to deregister your bin and start the whole process all over again to get one with more capacity!

What bureaucracy! And that’s just the stuff you don’t recycle – the rest has to be dragged to the local recycling point which is only open certain hours and if you don’t drive, lugging tons of plastic and paper and cardboard there is probably a bit of a chore. It’s compulsory mind you – if someone catches you throwing paper in your general rubbish bin, then there will be trouble! And I thought Germans were the big greenies!