Information on the German system of waste disposal Germany has a selective system of waste

disposal. Since the local authorities are in charge of waste management, this can vary from town to
town. In Bonn waste disposal is organized in the following way: Every household in general has 4
bins: a black, a green, a blue and a yellow one. The waste has to be sorted according to the material
it consists of and is to be disposed of as follows: 1. Black Bin 2. Green Bin 3. Blue Bin 4. Yellow Bin
Glass (non-returnable bottles, food containers such as jam jars) has to be disposed of separately. In
all neighbourhoods one can find glass containers. The glass has to be sorted according to its colour
(brown, green and white glass). The glass containers closest to the MPI are situated at the corner of
Auf dem Hgel/Bleichgraben (road leading to the MPI parking). Bulky waste All household
furnishings which are too bulky for disposal in waste bins such as furniture, lamps,
cupboards/wardrobes, carpets (up to 50 m2 ), shelves, tables and chairs. Collection: Street collection
4 times a year You should not add: Vehicle parts, old clothes, building waste, domestic waste,
electrical appliances, waste requiring special disposal, cartons, packaging Waste requiring special
disposal Large electrical appliances Such as refrigerators, TV sets or hi-fi equipment, computers,
dishwashers, washing machines, etc. For free collection of these please phone: 01801/880066
(SITA Wagner GmbH) Small electrical appliances Such as toasters, irons, coffee machines, portable
radios, hairdryers, etc. Red bins at Lievelingsweg 110 (Office for City Cleaning and Waste
Management), town hall Paint, lacquer, solvents, fluorescent and energy-saving lamps, alkaline
solutions, acids, batteries, cleaning agents Waste Recycling Plant, Am Dickobskreuz Waste
disposal schedules are generally distributed to every household by the city of Bonn (Amt fr
Stadtreinigung und Abfallwirtschaft).
 Sri Lanka A Handbook of
manners
TRAVEL , SRI-LANKA

While communicating with locals, visiting one of the impressive temples or while
having dinner at a restaurant, the rain-drop island is full of manners and traditions.
This handbook of manners helps you to prevent unpleasant situations with and will
teach you how to behave in a respectful manner. Once you learned some typical Sri
Lankan manners, it will be even easier to join and enjoy the society to the fullest.

Locals in Sri Lanka smile a lot. Despite of all tragic events that took place in the past,
Sri Lankas locals seem to be happy and positive. Smiling faces from elderly women,
children and dads. A smile from you always helps to spread a positive attitude and
builds the foundation for a nice conversation.

Handbook of manners #1 Treat each

other respectfully
Respect is one of the most important virtues from a Sri Lankan perspective. If you
talk openly in a negative way in front of other people the person you argue with
loses his face in public. This is, in many Asian countries, one of the worst situations
for an individual.

So please reconsider if it is necessary to argue in a loud and disrespectful manner

with a person in public space.

Handbook of manners #2 Bow while

greeting
Different to us, Sri Lankans normally greet each other by bowing gently. While doing
so, hands meet in front of the chest and the words Ayubowan are spoken (which
means literally translated long life) to the opponent. Nowadays many locals also
got used to the English hello but shaking hands is still not commonly used.

Handbook of manners #3 Nod your

head for communication
Once you are observing a dialogue from locals or talking to a Sri Lankan yourself you
will soon notice the horizontal movement of the head. The motion usually consists of
a side-to-side tilting of the head in arcs along the coronal plane. It is a form of
nonverbal communication and means Yes, Good, Ok I understand depending
on the context. Misunderstandings inevitable J

Handbook of manners #4 Meaning of

hand and feet
Soon you will notice that the style of eating also differs to what we are used to. Being
in Sri Lanka also means eating with your hands, with the right one to be precise. If
you want to try eating with your hand remember not to use the left one. It is
considered to be dirty.

Ps.: Having said that, you will use your left for drinking.

Please remember this also while helping people by giving a hand. Do not do this with
your left but always your right hand. Same applies for the bottom of your feet. These
are also considered to be not clean and thus you should refrain to show the bottom
of your feet in public, especially not in direction of temples and other holy buildings.

Handbook of manners #5 Behaviour

in public
Especially the behaviour in temples is a controversial topic and thus often discussed
and explained. To put things short: Before entering a temple, you should remove
shoes as well as hat or caps. Above that shoulders and knees should also be covered.
In general you should show as little skin as possible as sign of respect.

In public endearments are not accepted. Holding hands is a sign of friendship but
everything beyond that is not liked to be seen. We witnessed police stopping a
couple kissing in public, for example.

As on every other trip you should be aware of what exactly you are capturing. If you
want to take a photo of a local, approach them and ask in a nice manner whether it is
ok to take a photo or not. Some people do not like being on photos and this should
be considered while taking pictures or videos.

If we wanted to take a picture, we started a conversation with the person and then
after buying something or a nice chat we carefully asked if it would also be ok to take
a photo. Often, they are happy that you are interested in their life. If you are aiming
for taking pictures from tea picker or fishermen, a tip is often expected.

Tip: Taking photos in temples in normally not allowed. Above that you should refrain
taking pictures in front of Buddha statues while pointing with your back to it. This is
perceived as very disrespectful.