Bring on the Bottles! (Quincy says, beer please)

We tend to be a family of many beverages.  And given EVERYTHING we drink here comes from a bottle (only brave locals drink from the tap), we generate quite a lot of empties.  

This past weekend we hosted a Newcomers Wine & Cheese party, resulting in a significant load....

After a year of longing for our fab blue bins (recycling containers right in our alley), we put some clues together and figured out there IS recycling in Kyiv.....you just need to look a bit closer....

The random dude in the alley of the 'Babushka market'???.....

He's actually running a legit recycling business.....

Roll up, drop your bottles & get a fair price (with CLEARLY LISTED VALUES and everything!!!)

Our first load (mostly beer bottles) net us 7 hryvna (~$1).  The kids were excited & decided to use our recycling funds to save up for a pet.....

However, we experienced a harsh let down when our big load from the Wine & Cheese party only paid out a whopping 2 hryvna (~25 cents)!

We were shocked.....BUT alas, it turns out all bottles are not equal.....

A big beer bottle will net you 20 kopeks...

Meanwhile, a wine bottle - a BIG FAT ZERO!!!

So Quincy says, come on over & have a drink - just please make it a beer.


However, Logan & I - being relatively 'wine biased' - are still inclined to pop corks - despite the zero $ glass return.....AND after discovering a new wine party trick, are even more eager to share the joy.

YES, it's a dry erase marker to write your name on your wine glass (no confusing wine glass markers to remember)

And, YES - it wipes right off.  Frankly, you don't even need to wipe it off - the dishwasher does the trick too!

So if you are as impressed with this trick as we were, drop Quincy 20 kopeks to put in his pet fund & we'll pour you some wine instead of a beer.


Here's to wine, recycling and the magic of a dry erase marker!