Different forms of paper-handling solutions in Geneva, Zürich and Seoul: (pieces of paper maintainted by a piece of string in Zürich)

(paper bin in Geneva)

(Huge and compressed stacks of paper, once collected, in Geneva)

(Failed attempt to recycle shredded paper, in Geneva)

(Shredded paper in plastic bags, in Seoul)

Why do I blog this? documenting the different forms of recycle papers in our cities is always curious. It basically shows how a certain material moves through different instantiations as well as the recycling norms or practices: the use of strings in Switzerland is very common with or without a big paper bin, the importance of collecting shredded papers (and the inherent accident, as shown in the photo in Geneva) or plastic bags with certain colors. All of this nicely represents both cultural norms, organizational processes and artifacts that people have put in place to maintain this recycling flow. It's important to keep in mind that this is where toilet papers, newspapers and books come from.