"Where do I put this?"
You go in, unload and leave. That's often all we spend at the recycling centre. But what happens to the people who spend all day there?
Little after midday, the Hagenholz recycling centre in Zurich-Seebach is still very quiet. There are only a few cars in the big hall. I want to know if the customers are as stressed as the guy in the new Galaxus ad. "99% of people are polite. But there are always those who think they don't have to follow the rules," adds employee Muje. This then manifests itself in vulgarities or tantrums. Muje remembers one such person in particular from his 22 years of service at Hagenholz: "In the past, bin bags had to be paid for separately. One woman didn't want to face the facts and started shouting and becoming violent. Fortunately, her two colleagues managed to calm her down."
Today, at least, no one can complain about it any more. For years, all Zurich residents have been receiving four discount vouchers at the end of the year, which they can use to dispose of 100 kg per voucher free of charge. For the past six years, this offer has also included normal household waste. And the customers are delighted: "Household waste is, along with wood, particularly furniture, the most discarded materials", explains Tafa. He says he's been working here too long already. But he still loves his job: "The colleagues are great!"
Be patient for your own good
The other employees confirm this. Marc seems calm and collected. He doesn't indulge in little anecdotes. He patiently explains to me which contents correspond to which colour of container, just as he does day after day for his customers. Red for ceramics, white for iron, green for iron mixtures and blue for electrical waste. It's a colour that must be worth its weight in gold in a job that involves so much customer contact. Not only for the customers, but also for himself.
Giuseppe, a long-standing Hagenholz customer, agrees: "Why should I get upset if it takes longer? Twice a year, the pensioner comes to Hagenholz - and in a very specific order: "In my car, I load my things in the right order. So I can get through in one go without having to run around," he adds. Many customers aren't so organised.
No special treatment
"A lot of people don't understand straight away what goes in which container. To be honest, I didn't understand it either until I started here," admits Tafa. And I also have to admit that I would have made a few mistakes when it came to sorting. Nevertheless, I have the feeling that laziness also plays a role. That's what Marc confirmed: "Some people just throw things in any container they can find, because it's easier for them and they know we'll correct their mistake."Muje experienced a particularly instructive case of laziness and arrogance: "A guy unloaded his recycling waste and refused to sort it himself. His explanation was that I was Swiss. "It doesn't matter where you come from, you have to sort your own rubbish," added Muje.
Strong principles
But there are also people who are so correct as to be bizarre. At the Hagenholz recycling centre, there are three lanes for cars to line up in. The lanes are marked by continuous white lines, known in road traffic as safety lines: "A motorist pulled into the middle lane, but the left-hand lane became free. I pointed this out to the customer so that he could move on more quickly", explains Muje. Everyone would probably have been happy - except the motorist: "The person told me, quite honestly, that he had no right to cross a continuous line. I then explained to him that this was private property and that different rules applied here. But he wasn't persuaded and bravely waited in the middle lane. "One thing's for sure, you can't blame this person for not following the rules.
Hagenholz also has his principles. One of them is that customers are not allowed to take anything with them. "We weigh cars on arrival and on departure and calculate the price that way. If a customer packs other customers' recycling waste, the system no longer works", Tafa explains. An impeccable menorah that a customer would have liked to take was unfortunately left in the scrap heap. Other things tend to be less coveted when they're second-hand. Like the vibrator that Mike considers the most curious object of his three weeks of practical training: "At least it landed straight in the right container," he says.
A review for digitec
A little further back, I meet Leon, who is doing his apprenticeship here. He's the first person I hear quietly criticising the work: "The work and the colleagues are great, I just wish there was an official programme. Matthias, who has been sitting in the sick room until now, is also waiting for me with a criticism. It's not directed at his company, but at mine: "The digitec radio ad gets on my nerves, but despite that, or rather because of that, it sticks with me."And now, guess where her Huawei P20 comes from? Exactly, from digitec ;)
With all the anecdotes and stories, I didn't even notice how busy the recycling centre is. Vans full to the brim are lined up. The employees are always faced with the same question: "Where do I put this?"With patience and politeness, they direct customers to the right containers: "It's nothing compared to the end of the year, when the vouchers are about to expire. There can be 1,000 cars in a day," says Muje. On a day like this, the number of times the question must have fallen should border on the unthinkable. Personally, I think I'd lose my temper after the third time. And I'd lose my temper even quicker if the customers were unpleasant. And that's exactly why I have great respect for the serenity of these men.
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My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.
