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Thursday, September 22, 2011

When in Rome: Use the Real Deal

Jesse and I were noticing this a lot at Oktoberfest, and then Jen and I were talking about it at the market:

The Germans use real dishes in situations where us Americans are used to disposables.

It's wierd at first.  To be outside at a festival, order a seemingly expensive beer, and get handed a nice beer glass instead of a flimsy plastic cup.

To keep it frugal and green for the businesses, they charge you the extra euro (or two) as a deposit so that when you return the glass, mug, plate, etc. you'll get your money back. 

And you got to enjoy your food/beverage on real dishes instead of in lame disposables, plus you enjoyed it without adding more trash to a landfill somewhere!

The same deposit system is in place for all bottled beverages.  The beer bottles are made of thicker glass so that they last longer and can be reused.  So when you return your bottles in the crate, you get a decent chunk of change back.  

These Germans.  How different from us silly disposable-obsessed Americans!  I like them ;o)

(Just food for thought, a quick google search just told me that there is over 1,000 tons of trash produced at Oktoberfest... can you imagine what the number would be if they didn't use the real deal as much as possible?)

It felt rather classy at the market to be sitting outside on a picnic table in the fresh fall air drinking a cup of coffee from a real mug!

4 comments:

  1. I know, they're so much cooler than us ;o)

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  2. I love it. Those Germans...sigh. Their so ahead of us-or behind, but they've stayed behind in a better way. Hm. Oh-and I love your shirt :o)

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