{"id":1975,"date":"2011-04-12T14:43:32","date_gmt":"2011-04-12T13:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swedishfreak.com\/?p=1975"},"modified":"2013-02-20T06:39:55","modified_gmt":"2013-02-20T05:39:55","slug":"sweden-is-turning-me-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swedishfreak.com\/2011\/sweden-is-turning-me-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden is turning me green!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"garbage<\/a>Maybe it is because I grew up there and don’t know any better, but California seems pretty green to me. When I lived there, they recycled. Now the soccer moms are bringing their own grocery bags to the store. Slowly, it is improving. Sweden is a whole different story though. They really take that extra step, and maybe it is more the government or kommun that is doing it, but when it is so easy to be green, it is hard not to!<\/p>\n

Recycling is huge. In our garbage room there are the burnables, which is regular trash and of course the glass, plastic, and paper. The extra step? You have a place to throw away batteries and light bulbs! Ironically, in Prague the only place I could remember where I could take my old batteries was IKEA (which of course was only at the edge of town, so not convenient at all).<\/p>\n

The most amazing thing about our garbage here in Sweden is the organic. Yes, we recycle food products. Banana peels, orange peels, the cereal crumbs at the end of the box, dirty paper napkins, tea bags… anything that is bio degradable, we throw in the organic.<\/p>\n

Now you are thinking, wow, Skellefte\u00e5 <\/a>must have one giant (stinky) compost pile. WRONG! Our kommun actually recycles the organic waste into fuel for the garbage trucks. Yes, you read that correctly. FUEL. FOR. GARBAGE TRUCKS!<\/p>\n

\"garbage<\/a>Sweden is not only just great at garbage. They are also good at reducing carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

When I was a kid, it was not weird to go outside in the morning and start up the car 10 minutes before leaving so it was warm inside. This was in California. I never thought twice about it. Recently I visited my brother in New York, where they actually get snow, and this was a common practice. I started to think that maybe this wasn’t so environmentally friendly.<\/p>\n

I asked my Swede, and actually, it is not legal in most Swedish cities to idle your car longer than 1 minute. This doesn’t mean Swedes drive in freezing cold cars either. In Norrland <\/a>it gets very cold, as in -40C (-40F). At these times we need car heaters for the cars to even start! Cars in Sweden come with an electrical engine heater with a socket by the headlights. You can plug this into an electrical source to heat the engine so it starts. It also comes with another socket inside the cabin of the car, where you can attach a small heater. Set a timer for 30 minutes to 3 hour (depending on temperature) before you want to leave for work, and you have a warm cabin and a car engine that starts easier and with less fuel consumption. If you happen to not have an energy source to plug your car into, then you can use the car’s fuel engine heater if you happen to have this extra feature. You won’t have a warm cabin, but your car will at least start, and the heated seats will warm you up in a few minutes.<\/p>\n

\"plug<\/a>This “green” Sweden has gotten me a little crazy now. I love how they are making an effort, and I want to add to it. I try to recycle everything possible, from even rinsing out plastic containers that food comes in. Taking bags to the store I’ve been doing for awhile in Prague. But what about those plastic bags that one puts fruits and veggies in? Those are so wasteful! So last time I was in the states I bought reusable produce bags<\/a>. I use cloth napkins instead of paper ones. \"\"I bought some reusable sandwich bags<\/a> for my Swede to take to work. I use Tupperware whenever possible instead of bags. And when I do use zip lock bags, I wash them afterwards and reuse them!<\/p>\n

I’m quickly going green. Not that it is a bad thing. Maybe I should look at it that I’m turning a little bit more Swedish!<\/p>\n

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