4 ms·

My former roomie had this lovely letter pinned on his wall, from the DA, or "Staatsanwaltschaft" as the locals say. It states that witnesses reported him putti

My former roomie had this lovely letter pinned on his wall, from the DA, or "Staatsanwaltschaft" as the locals say. It states that witnesses reported him putting the box of his new LG tv, in with the paper rubbish. It then states that a subsequent investigation proved, that it was indeed his LG cardboard box, with, o horror, the styrofoam packaging still inside! Don't laugh, it's a crime. It concludes by politely offering a close to a 1000 CHF fine, lest he'd like to discuss the matter in front of a judge.

paganel 4y ago
> 1000 CHF fine, That's really harsh, and to think that at some point I really wanted to emigrate there, not anymore, I guess. What happens to the people who barely scrap by but who receive this type of fines?
- soco 4y ago
  They learn to recycle in the proper places. Styrofoam, cooking oils, metals, glass by color (although all in the same recycling place), paper and carton gets picked from the curb in certain (different) days... they receive the yearly schedule and all necessary addresses in the post and follow it.
  - paganel 4y ago
    My point is that everyone makes mistakes at some point, no matter the "learning". Everyone. Punishing someone poor so disproportionately seems really harsh and unfair. But, as someone else pointed out bellow, supposedly the judge also looks at the person's income, and, hopefully, the fine is commensurate with said person's income (i.e. not really reaching 1000 CHF).
- hutzlibu 4y ago
  So you wanted to move to switzerland, but not anymore because you refuse to learn recycling? It is really not that hard. And the fine is high, but if you don't enforce rules, the rules become meaningless and then for example the recycled paper worthless, because there is too much plastic in them. Edit: but to be clear, I would not call the police on someone who did not do proper recycling. I would simply tell them directly.
- wasmitnetzen 4y ago
  > What happens to the people who barely scrap by but who receive this type of fines? You never do it again, that's for sure. Switzerland is a very fine-heavy society. Sounds like a bit more research before developing that wish would have been beneficial for you... good for you that you didn't follow that wish.
  - paganel 4y ago
    > Sounds like a bit more research before developing that wish would have been beneficial for you Yeah, I realise I dodged a bullet. We did visit Switzerland and one of the main no-no-s for me was when I saw that the authorities can enter your house to check on you almost at will, if you live in Government-subsidised housing, that is. I did grow up in a Communist dictatorship, where all the housing was basically subsidised, and we didn't have to put up with crazy intruding stuff like that. But it is a very clean country, I'll give the Swiss that.
- Dah00n 4y ago
  >What happens to the people who barely scrap by but who receive this type of fines? Really it isn't that big of a problem. A judge would likely look at your income but if you want to compare there are better/worse things to look at, like healthcare might be one. It is after all avoidable by just recycling unlike needing healthcare.
- nibbleshifter 4y ago
  You put shit in the correct bin. In the trash room of your apartment building the bins are usually extremely clearly labelled, and plentiful. The reason Switzerland is so clean and nice is because there are a set of ground rules for the benefit of everyone that are rigorously enforced.
f1refly 4y ago
Styrofoam has been classified as hazardous waste since 2016. Legally it's en par with throwing your old car battery into the biodegradable waste bin.
- OJFord 4y ago
  > it's en par with Total aside, just FYI it's 'on par with'; in this usage 'par' comes directly from Latin without passing French, where 'par' is not about equality. I think the French equivalent would be 'égal à'.
  - f1refly 4y ago
    Interesting! I believe my English teacher in middle school always wrote it like this - but it's equally possible that I just memorized it wrong. I'll make sure to use it correctly from now on.

paganel 4y ago

> 1000 CHF fine, That's really harsh, and to think that at some point I really wanted to emigrate there, not anymore, I guess. What happens to the people who barely scrap by but who receive this type of fines?

soco 4y ago
They learn to recycle in the proper places. Styrofoam, cooking oils, metals, glass by color (although all in the same recycling place), paper and carton gets picked from the curb in certain (different) days... they receive the yearly schedule and all necessary addresses in the post and follow it.
- paganel 4y ago
  My point is that everyone makes mistakes at some point, no matter the "learning". Everyone. Punishing someone poor so disproportionately seems really harsh and unfair. But, as someone else pointed out bellow, supposedly the judge also looks at the person's income, and, hopefully, the fine is commensurate with said person's income (i.e. not really reaching 1000 CHF).
hutzlibu 4y ago
So you wanted to move to switzerland, but not anymore because you refuse to learn recycling? It is really not that hard. And the fine is high, but if you don't enforce rules, the rules become meaningless and then for example the recycled paper worthless, because there is too much plastic in them. Edit: but to be clear, I would not call the police on someone who did not do proper recycling. I would simply tell them directly.
wasmitnetzen 4y ago
> What happens to the people who barely scrap by but who receive this type of fines? You never do it again, that's for sure. Switzerland is a very fine-heavy society. Sounds like a bit more research before developing that wish would have been beneficial for you... good for you that you didn't follow that wish.
- paganel 4y ago
  > Sounds like a bit more research before developing that wish would have been beneficial for you Yeah, I realise I dodged a bullet. We did visit Switzerland and one of the main no-no-s for me was when I saw that the authorities can enter your house to check on you almost at will, if you live in Government-subsidised housing, that is. I did grow up in a Communist dictatorship, where all the housing was basically subsidised, and we didn't have to put up with crazy intruding stuff like that. But it is a very clean country, I'll give the Swiss that.
Dah00n 4y ago
>What happens to the people who barely scrap by but who receive this type of fines? Really it isn't that big of a problem. A judge would likely look at your income but if you want to compare there are better/worse things to look at, like healthcare might be one. It is after all avoidable by just recycling unlike needing healthcare.
nibbleshifter 4y ago
You put shit in the correct bin. In the trash room of your apartment building the bins are usually extremely clearly labelled, and plentiful. The reason Switzerland is so clean and nice is because there are a set of ground rules for the benefit of everyone that are rigorously enforced.

f1refly 4y ago

Styrofoam has been classified as hazardous waste since 2016. Legally it's en par with throwing your old car battery into the biodegradable waste bin.

OJFord 4y ago
> it's en par with Total aside, just FYI it's 'on par with'; in this usage 'par' comes directly from Latin without passing French, where 'par' is not about equality. I think the French equivalent would be 'égal à'.
- f1refly 4y ago
  Interesting! I believe my English teacher in middle school always wrote it like this - but it's equally possible that I just memorized it wrong. I'll make sure to use it correctly from now on.