It seems that there are certain days for burning rubbish. I don't know which day that is, but it is just awful. The smell of burning plastic is one of the worst smells ever. The vapour sticks in the back of your throat and makes your eyes water.
These photos are of a pile of rubbish that is along the street that runs perpendicular to my home. The photo on the right shows the burnt/charred/melted/still intact mess that is left behind.
I've been looking up information to see if there are any recycling centres in West Sumatra (I can't find any but if you know of one, let me know!). Even if there was a recycling centre, most of the plastic they use (including the thin black plastic bags everywhere) aren't suitable for recycling. Just about everything comes in these plastic bags. They do give rice in banana leaf (duan pisang) parcels, but everything else gets bagged. I want to help contribute to Pariaman being clean and better than when I arrived, so I bought some reusable containers so that I don't have to use these bags too often. Today I bought some fabric as well, and I am going to make some bags. I already have big reusable bags, but sometimes you need a smaller size. I will definitely post my creations (warning: I am impatient with sewing, but I do think it is pretty fun).
The one thing I know I can do to help minimise the trash is to compost. I started one at work last week, and I bring all of our organic materials to compost when we come into work. I am hoping to make some good soil and maybe plant a few vegetables.
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