This morning as I, Greg Shenkman, drank my coffee looking at the sun slowly rise over the valley, when I realized that I forgot to take out the recycling, interestingly enough, that is what inspired this post. During my trips around the globe, I takes notes and make observations about the recycling habits of each country I visit.
Switzerland’s recycling efforts are noteworthy, with their bottle banks in almost every supermarket making it easier for everyone to recycle. Because of thier awesome recycling efforts, the Swiss are the world’s number one recyclers, recycling 52% of the country’s waste. Austria and Germany are second and third, respectively. Austria recycles 49.7% of the country’s waste and German 48%.
The United States only recycles 31% while being the world’s largest producer of waste.The world’s worst recycling countries are perhaps the India and Greece.
If each citizen of the world makes a personal commitment to recycling and conservation, it is the intelectual hope that towns, cites and countries will follow and we can leave some of the beauty on this earth for our children.
So my mom is turning 70 in July and I wanted to surprise her and take her somewhere really nice for her birthday. I have been tossing around a few ideas but it’s hard to decide where to take your mom. I don’t think a hot tropical island would be the best choice for someone of her age, and Europe entails a lot of walking, so that’s out. I was thinking of a nice cruise because it would be easy for her and there would be a lot of activities for her to do. A friend of mine suggested the Alaskan cruise because her birthday is in July and that is supposed to be the best time to go. If you have any better suggestions, let me know. It needs to be simple, yet something she’ll enjoy.
- Greg Shenkman
Of course I’m not really moving to Brazil but it is enticing to know that if you live in Brazil you get a minimum of 30 vacation days plus 11 public holidays. Yahoo had an article posted yesterday about countries with the most vacation days. France, Finland and Russia come in second for the most time off with 40 vacation days and holidays. At least I don’t live in China or Canada where people only get 10 vacation days plus holidays. I can see how the extra vacation time could make people more appreciative of their jobs and also keeps them from getting burned out. For now, Greg Shenkman, is staying where he is, but its nice to sometimes think about what it would be like to be elsewhere.