That's rubbish! It's only trash.

In the UK we call it 'rubbish'.  In the USA they call it 'trash'.  In Spanish, it's basura.

Household rubbish is collected communally here in Spain, not a door to door service like in most parts of the UK.  However I prefer the service in Alicante because it is collected EVERY NIGHT.  You take your own rubbish out when it is convenient for you*, which could be every day or once a week, and you divide it into the large recycling containers specific for each material.

*(food residuals should only be taken out after 9pm at night though because it is so hot here in the summer months that it could create an awful stench and pest problems!)

Types of container

Starting at the left:
-the blue-topped container is for paper and cardboard
-the yellow-topped container is for plastic, tins and cartons
-the grey container is for general food waste which should be deposited in tied or sealed bags
-the green rounded containers are for glass bottles and similar
-the orange bottle-style container is a new thing around here... it's for depositing used cooking oil.

Here is a closer look at the cute container.  In Spain, they deep fry a lot of food, especially the older generation.  You are probably thinking what a bad diet they have over here... but the Mediterranean diet in general is one of the most healthy and the oil that they use is usually extra virgin olive oil.  And it's not that everything is fried either.

Anyway, the old oil is tipped into any plastic bottle that can be closed tightly and then placed carefully in the container and disposed of by the authorities because you should not empty it into the general water systems.

Tax

In the UK you have a 'council tax' which is a one-off charge per year according to where you live and the type of home you have.  There is a similar banding range of categories over here but the 'council tax', or Impuestos sobre Bienes Inmuebles (el IBI), is one charge and the recogida de basura (rubbish collection) is a separate tax.  It is charged once a year and could be between 22€ and 55€, depending on different factors.  For the year 2013, I was charged 31.50€ for a flat in the centre of Alicante, which I don't think is that bad at all - it's less than 1€ per week.

Other rubbish deposits

In the centre of Alicante, instead of leaving large mobile containers on the streets, the council have installed underground deposits in some areas.  The rubbish bags put into these four bins fall into a large deposit that lifts up electronically (can you see the cut-out in the pavement?) and is collected by the trucks on their nightly rounds.  For the recyclable materials as mentioned above, in this case you would have to look elsewhere for them.

How is the rubbish collection organised where you live?