Trash talk

One of the fun things about living in a country other than the one you've grown up in is that everything is interesting... even garbage. When I first moved to Botswana, I was disgusted by the amount of garbage I saw everywhere. In the USA, I have been known to approach people who I see littering and ask them to properly dispose of what they've thrown on the ground. So, since moving to Botswana, I have had trouble biting my tongue when I routinely see people throwing candy wrappers, banana peels and other rubbish on the ground.



In some areas there is evidence that people try to put garbage in a designated spot. But in others, there is not.



At my house, we do pay for and have garbage service-- theoretically. Sometimes they come and collect our garbage, and sometimes they don't.



Also, there does not appear to be much of a recycling effort here. I used to separate my rubbish, but then I noticed that it was all eventually getting put in the same bin, so I've stopped. (Although I know the newspapers get passed on to someone who uses them for bird bedding).