Recycling Center

24 October 2020

Today, I made my maiden visit to a recycling center. In Swedish, this is återvinningscentral. Sweden's recycling system is one of the advanced ones in the world. It is cultivated in a kid's upbringing to recycle. So, it becomes natural to them and as adults, they are aware of what items are recycled or incarcinerated. I am amazed, impressed and I hope that this can be emulated to many countries. Is it possible? 

In each neighbourhood, the common recycling bins are available within walking distance. Printed materials, packaging, plastic, metal and glass. Now, for items such as electronics, ceramic, huge plastic items, bicycles, prams, chemicals or anything that cannot be recycled in the recycling bins, one brings them to the recycling center. The recycling center is managed by the municipal. One is expected to drive here considering the bulky items a person is recycling. There are probably buses available but one has to walk to the center. It would be difficult to carry these items in a bus, though. There are designated parking spaces for vechicles that have recyclable items. For vehicles that carry nothing, they have to park at another spot. 

The chemical waste is the first container one sees. Chemical waste such as paint, medicine or anything that is poisonous to the environment and human. Next, one drives to the next containers to dispose other non-chemical items. Here, there are 6 categories - metal / scrap (for e.g. bicycle, pram, iron), wood, landfill (for e.g. plastic), combustible and another category which I do not remember. Examples of items that fall under the respective categories are stated on the signboard. Or one can ask the staff that is patrolling the area. The staffs ensure the items are recycled in the right containers. There are even separate containers to recycle lightbulbs and batteries. 

Wellness allowance : Footcare

20 October 2020

As an employee in Sweden, one of the optional benefits that an employer can offer is an annual wellness allowance. This non-taxable allowance can reach to a maximum of SEK5000 which is about RM2500. The employee can use this allowance for sports or massage or any activities that are approved by the tax authorities that can contribute to an employee's well-being. There is a whole list of it. This is such a great benefit that shows how much work-life balance is emphasised here. 

Last year, I used my annual allowance to buy a gym card where I could swim and gym. I could also use the sauna, or whatever facilities offered by the gym. This year, I dare not visit the gym due to Corona and so, I decided to utilise my wellness allowance for footcare as I did not have to be in close contact with people. My toenails have not been in the prettiest condition due to my running and hiking activities. I did lots of that before I moved to Sweden. Most of my toenails have died and regrown. I have a toenail that has a double layer so, I decided it is time I visit a nail therapist to fix the nail. Sometimes, it gets too tight in my shoe because of this thick toenail. I did not know that a nail therapist has a specific education and the therapist that I went to is a qualified one.

For my 30 minute medical footcare with Friska Fötter (Healthy Feet), I got a footbath, filing and clipping of my toenails, removal of dead and hard skin that was preventing the growth of my huge toenail, and foot massage. It was suppose to be a 50-minute footcare, but as I did not have any serious nail and foot conditions, the footcare was a short one. The session costed me SEK810. Otherwise, it would be SEK650 if this is not a wellness allowance. The difference was due to tax. Yes, I did mention above that it is a non-taxable allowance, but what I meant by that is that I do not get taxed from it. The employer 'pays' for the tax in the allowance. 

Lingonberry picking

19 September 2020

Picking lingons can mean only one thing - summer is gone! Lingonberries appear during autumn and they do not make much mess as compared to blueberries. Blueberries leave stain on your fingers. I do not enjoy picking lingonberries as much as picking blueberries, as there are not much choices to do with lingonberries. The only thing I am aware of is lingon jam. Lingonberries are very sour and has to be added with lots of sugar, at least half the weight of lingoberries when making the jam. I have got lots of lingonberries in the freezer now and to make space for frozen food, I need to make lots of jam!

Apple picking at random houses

10 September 2020

Autumn season is here! The common fruit during this season is the apple! Most folks have apple trees in their gardens. So, we decided to help these folks by plucking their apples. An apple tree can produce so many apples that the owners are not able to pluck all these apples, resulting in the apples falling to the ground and rotting. Not a pretty sight. 

We walked around the neighbourhood and knocked on random houses that have gorgeous, round and red apples. We did this a couple of times, and each time, the owners welcomed us and even offered us bags to carry the apples. Of course, we brought our own bags. Each time, we plucked about 20 apples each and there are still lots of apples on the trees. I am very happy with my free apple stash! 

Warehouse visit

This year, I have picked up a new skill. Well, I am not very skillful yet but I have learnt how to use the tools and understand bits and pieces of the subject. I am talking about carpentry and building works. In Sweden, it is very common to have the locals building their own summer cottages, installing pipes and lights. Basically, most of them are very handy. And this is made possible because there are websites available to guide these builders on the right measurement and safety guidelines with no charge. 

I have been visiting the warehouses in Stockholm - Bauhaus, Hornbach, Bygg-Ole to buy roof tiles, pipes, steels, planks, screws, and anything you can think of to build or fix a house. The plus side is I get to learn lots of new Swedish words or maybe old ones that have the same meaning. For example, fjäder can mean both feather and spring. I got confused when I was told that we are going to buy fjäder to support the fixture and in my head, I was wondering how can a feather do that. Haha! 

The warehouses here are so large that cars can drive in and park next to the items. They carry the items either on the roof of the car or with a trailer. It is common to see trailers around here. The trailers are attached to the back of the car. If the items are carried on the roof of the car and are longer than the car, a bright flag has to be hung at the end of the item so that the driver behind the trailer can estimate the distance. I am amazed by this. I have never been to a warehouse in Malaysia and I do not even know if such warehouses exist.