A couple weeks ago we had an overcast Saturday, so we decided to head to the Papillorama, a butterfly house and more in the region. I had to start by this picture because this is how we begin each Saturday adventure--with a trip to the dechetterie. This is where we take all of our recyclables. They are now many, since at the beginning of 2013 they implemented a new policy with the motto: "Make polluters pay!" Essentially, we now pay 2 Swiss Francs for each garbage bag we want to throw in the dumpster. And an extra tax of 70 Francs per year per person to pay for the guards at the dechetterie to make sure that only people from our village are using it. You certainly wouldn't want to allow the general public to take advantage of the services they provide. It is amazing how quickly you realize how little of what we throw away is actually real waste. Pretty much just diapers. so now we go through less than 2 garbage bags a month. Sometimes it getting a little overwhelming trying to store all of your garbage before your next trip to the dechetterie, but it is nice to think that maybe we have decreased the size of our carbon footprint just a little bit more.
Then we headed to the Papilliorama.
Evaëlle had her first experience with butterflies. And bats. And sloths. And armadillos. And probably a lot of other things.
 I like this picture because it captures the little brown stripe in her eye so well. |
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I like this picture because it captures the little brown stripe in her eye so well. 
America could certainly take a few lessons from some of these European countries. When I visited my sister in Slovenia, I threw away a yogurt container (just one of the little ones), and she had me go through her big garbage can to fish it out! She said they'd be fined for having a recyclable item in their trash can. I was shocked at first, but I think it's actually a pretty strong incentive and a great system. She had so little trash, since she did compost in her back yard, and recycling for a lot of everything else. Impressive!
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