When in Athens, Do as the Athenians Do

You may remember one very excited post from Day 1 in Athens. I was pumped that, as soon as we stepped off the bus and into the city center (Syntagma), we saw awesome recycling centers. And awesome Athenians using them. It was pretty great.

Well, my parents and I carefully saved all recyclables and deposited them appropriately ourselves. Despite some eyerolling at the start of the trip, by the end of it they were almost more into this stuff than I was! They were seeing plastic everywhere, avoiding it like pro's, and hoarding recyclables with the best of them. Way to go, Mom and Dad!

So, here we are, recycling away.
Dad recycles:


Mom recycles:


And I recycle:


Afterall, it's what the Athenians do! Oh, and what do you get for recycling? Coupons for money off at Carrefour (a European supermarket)! The Greeks totally live right!

Recycling in Athens

I'm in Athens, where plastic does abound. More on that later. However, I do have good news about recycling. Athenians have these lovely recycling centers around the city. It seems like they get paid for this recycling. LOVE IT!


We had a great evening last night with delicious Greek food at a taverna just under the Acropolis. It was beautiful! We're off to explore now, but I'll update when I can (or when I get back).

Potbelly's

FYI: I'm done with grad school. This should result in a lot more blog posts. :)

Today, I had lunch at Potbelly's. It's one of my favorites. Now I ask myself (and you) to help me evaluate whether it's a good anti-plastic experience.

Here's what I've observed:
+
1. Use paper packaging instead of plastic.
2. Offer canned beverages (recyclable).
3. Make most stuff fresh, reducing the amount of "storage plastic" they use compared with placed that use lots of pre-packaged products.
4. Most have recycling bins next to the trash.

-
1. Use plastic for sides. Including if you want extra hot peppers. Sigh. (I love their hot peppers!)
2. Beverage cups, like most, are plastic coated.
3. Chips are in plastic packaging.

Once I went to a location (the L Street Farragut North store) where there were no recycling bins. I was highly confused and distressed. But all the other ones have had them. Today I was thinking how great it would be if only we could compost restaurant waste.

I usually feel good about a trip to Potbelly's. Is there any reason I shouldn't?