Sign up for the Inc.

This Morning newsletter

LEAD

Germany Figured Out the Single Best Way to Get

People to Recycle
Seems like we've been approaching it all wrong. How did we miss this,
America?
By Justin BarisoAuthor, EQ Applied@JustinJBariso

GETTY IMAGES
Having moved to Germany five years ago, I noticed this story in
yesterday's New York Times: "Germany Gleefully Leads List of World's Top
Recyclers."

Heck, yeah, they do.

It's one of the first things I noticed--partly because I've been a fanatic recycler
for years. My wife, who's part German, still laughs about the fact that I
religiously wash out plastic yogurt cups before throwing them into the bin. I can't
understand why anyone would do otherwise.

But as a nation, Germany takes it to another level.

As reported by the Times:

"According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development, Germans happily sort 65 percent of their waste into an
array of color-coded bins to be collected for reuse or incineration. South
Koreans come in second, recycling 59 percent of their refuse. The United
States recycles 35 percent; that's only slightly above the average for the
developed countries that belong to the organization, but it is miles ahead
of Turkey, where 99 percent of all trash ends up in a landfill."

Yes, even before the good little German children begin preschool--or as it's
called here, kindergarten--they learn how to properly separate refuse. Here
where I live, it's green for biodegradable waste; blue for cardboard, paper, and
plastic; and silver for everything else. (Glass gets three containers: one for
green, one for brown, one for clear.)

I still don't understand what machines could possibly separate plastic from
cardboard and paper, once it's all thrown together. A German friend quipped to
me that many believe in the end it all goes to the same place: "But we all
continue to separate trash anyway--because that's what you're supposed to do."
 The Secret Weapon
But to truly understand the clever nature of German recycling, you have to look
at the plastic bottle industry.

If you recycle a plastic bottle in America, you're doing well to get back a nickel.
Here in Germany, it's a whopping twenty-five cents!

That means that depositing the twelve empty bottles from water, juice, or soda
that you bought last week nets you three euros off your next grocery bill. Doesn't
sound like much? That's 156 euros of savings per year. And, of course, every
grocery store has a bottle return machine right up front, so it just becomes part
of your normal routine.

In the end, it appears the Germans have stumbled across the best strategy for
motivating environmental friendliness.

If you want to get people to recycle, just pay them.

How did we miss that one, America?

PUBLISHED ON: NOV 29, 2016

Like this column? Sign up to subscribe to email alerts and you'll never miss a post.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

More from Inc.

In a Polarized Universe, Learn to Expect the Unexpected

How to Get Your Company's Culture Right From the Start (Before it Comes Back to Bite You, Like it Did for
United)

Your Performance Goes Up When You Do This 1 Odd Thing, Study Finds

3 Inevitable Failures All Leaders Must Face (and How to Learn From Them)
 Sponsored Business Content

ETF GLOBALStrong Week For The 4th

THE AICGoing Green

LATAM INVESTORNow Is A Great Time To Invest In Latin American Mining

ABERDEEN STANDARD INVESTMENTSCashflow Driven Investing - A Solution For DB Pensions

STRATEGY

7 Things Steve Jobs Said That You Should Say Every

Single Day
What you do is based on what you think. So borrow a few thoughts from
Steve.
By Jeff HadenContributing editor, Inc.@jeff_haden
 SECRET WEAPON | 0:00

Steve Jobs Lived By These 5 Philosophies for Success

He came, he saw, he conquered...and he left behind some words to live by:

1. "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

Ideas without action aren't ideas. They're regrets.

Every day, most people let hesitation and uncertainty stop them from acting on
an idea. (Fear of the unknown and fear of failure are often what stop me, and
they may be what stop you, too.)

Think about a few of the ideas you've had, whether for a new business, a new
career, or even just a part-time job.

In retrospect, how many of your ideas could have turned out well, especially if
you had given it your absolute best? Would a decent percentage have turned
out well?

My guess is, probably so -- so start trusting your analysis, your judgment, and
even your instincts a little more.

You certainly won't get it right all the time, but if you do nothing and allow your
ideas to become regrets... you will always get it wrong.

2. "I'm convinced that about half of what separates successful

entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance."

Everyone says they go the extra mile. Almost no one actually does. Most people
who do go there think, "Wait...no one else is here...why am I doing this?" And
they leave, never to return.

That's why the extra mile is such a lonely place.

That's also why the extra mile is a place filled with opportunities.

Be early. Stay late. Make the extra phone call. Send the extra email. Do the
extra research. Help a customer unload or unpack a shipment.

Don't wait to be asked -- offer. Don't just tell employees what to do -- show them
what to do, and work beside them.

Every time you do something, think of one extra thing you can do...especially if
other people aren't doing that extra thing.

Sure, it's hard. But that's what will make you different.

And over time, that's what will make you successful.

3. "My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept
each other's kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each
other, and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That's how I see
business: Great things in business are never done by one person, they're
done by a team of people."

Some of your employees drive you nuts. Some of your customers are
obnoxious. Some of your friends are selfish, all-about-me jerks.

Stop whining. You chose them.

If the people around you make you unhappy, it's not their fault. It's your fault.
They're in your professional or personal life because you drew them to you --
and you let them remain.

Think about the type of people you want to work with. Think about the types of
customers you would enjoy serving. Think about the friends you want to have.

Then change what you do so you can start attracting those people. Hardworking
people want to work with hardworking people. Kind people like to associate with
kind people.
Exceptional employees want to work for exceptional bosses.

Be the best you can be, and work to surround yourself with people who are
even better.

4. "My favorite things in life don't cost any money. It's really clear that the
most precious resource we all have is time."

Deadlines and time frames establish parameters, but usually not in a good way.
Most people given two weeks to complete a task will instinctively adjust their
effort so it actually takes two weeks -- even if it shouldn't.

So forget deadlines, at least as a way to manage your activity. Tasks should

only take as long as they need to take. Do everything as quickly and effectively
as you can. Then, use your "free" time to get other things done just as quickly
and effectively.

Average people allow time to impose its will on them; exceptional people
impose their will on their time.

5. "Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit

them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations."

Ask most people why they have been successful. Their answers will be filled
with personal pronouns like "I" and "me." Only occasionally will you hear "we."

Then ask them why they failed. Most will revert to childhood and instinctively
distance themselves, like a kid who says, "My toy got broken..." instead of, "I
broke my toy." They'll say the economy tanked. They'll say the market wasn't
ready. They'll say their suppliers couldn't keep up.

They'll say it was someone or something else.

And by distancing themselves, they don't learn from their failures.

Occasionally, something completely outside our control will cause us to fail.
Most of the time, though, it's us. And that's okay. Every successful person has
failed, numerous times. Most of them have failed a lot more often than we have.
That's why they're successful now.

Embrace every failure. Own it, learn from it, and take full responsibility for
making sure that next time, things will turn out differently.

6. "I didn't return to Apple to make a fortune. I've been very lucky in my life
and already have one. When I was 25, my net worth was $100 million or so.
I decided then that I wasn't going to let it ruin my life. There's no way you
could ever spend it all, and I don't view wealth as something that validates
my intelligence."

Money is important. Money does a lot of things. (One of the most important is to
create choices.)

But after a certain point, money doesn't make people happier. After about
$75,000 a year, money doesn't buy more (or less) happiness. "Beyond
$75,000...higher income is neither the road to experience happiness nor the
road to relief of unhappiness or stress," says a study published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

And if you don't buy that, here's another take: "The materialistic drive and
satisfaction with life are negatively related." (Or in non-research speak,
"Chasing possessions tends to make you less happy.")

Think of it as the bigger house syndrome. You want a bigger house. You need a
bigger house. (Not really, but it sure feels like you do.) So you buy it. Life is
good...until a couple months later, when your bigger house is now just your
house.

New always becomes the new normal.

That's because "things" only provide momentary bursts of happiness. To be
happier, don't chase as many things. Chase experiences.

Someday you won't remember what you had...but you'll never forget what you
did.

7. "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to
be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way
to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep
looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you
find it."

Don't know what you're passionate about? No problem. Pick something

interesting. Pick something financially viable -- something people will pay you to
do or provide.

Then work hard. Improve your skills, whether at managing, selling, creating,
implementing...whatever expertise your business requires. The satisfaction and
fulfillment of small victories will give you the motivation to keep working hard.
Small victories will motivate you to further develop your skills.

The satisfaction of achieving one level of success will spur you on to gain the
skills to reach the next level, and the next, and the next.

And one day, you will wake up feeling incredibly fulfilled -- because you're doing
great work, work you've grown to love.
PUBLISHED ON: SEP 13, 2016

Like this column? Sign up to subscribe to email alerts and you'll never miss a post.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

More from Inc.

Never Mind Plan B. You'd Better Get This Plan C Ready.

Here's Why the Simple Goal of Walking Faster (not Longer) is Really Good for You, According to Science

What's Your Visual Strategy? Here's How to Create a Goal-Driven Direction for Your Next Campaign
Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and Other Tech Leaders Share Their Favorite Summer Reads

Sponsored Business Content

CHANNELS

STARTUP

GROW

LEAD

INNOVATE

TECHNOLOGY

MONEY

INC. 5000

VIDEO

MORE INC.

EVENTS

NEWSLETTERS

MAGAZINE

BRANDVIEW

PODCASTS
SUBSCRIBE

SUBSCRIBE

MAGAZINE

DIGITAL EDITION

FOLLOW INC.

© 2018 Manuseto Ventures

Help Center

Advertise

Privacy

Sitemap