Many people don’t realize that Torino is actually a very green city. Images of a grey, industrial mess is probably what most image. In the last couple of years, the city has taken great strides to make a more environmentally friendly way of life.

When I first moved here 7 years ago, trash recycling was (and still is) the norm. It’s actually very easy and doesn’t take any effort but for some reason there are a lot of people who don’t recycle. I literally have five… yes 5 trash cans in my balcony. All for various items.

Every day,  they pick up a different bin. While it’s super annoying to have 5 bins take up space, it’s so easy and the waste we do have is basically dust that is swept up.

There are also various donation bins around the city to donate gently used clothes. Technically this should be picked up by the city and take to the city recycling center. However, it’s not unusual to see random people “dumpster diving” in these. 

I’ve actually seen a lady leaning out her window and asking some stranger for the clothes that he was about to put into the bin. She asked what was in the bag and asked for it. He then tossed it up to her. (Hey, I guess you cut out the middle man that way!)

Say what you will about our buses but I love the fact I can get anyway in the city AND suburbs with most of the buses. For €1,50 per ticket you can go pretty much anyway and use the same ticket for 90 minutes. You can also use the same ticket if you start your trip on the metro and finish on the bus. Sadly, I don’t think it works the other way around. (meaning you can’t use it on the bus then try to use the same ticket on the metro- but I’ve never tried it)

Fairly new to the city are the sharing options. ToBike and IoGuido are very popular. ToBike stations are placed around the city where the majority of people come through like train stations or near the Universities. You have to subscribe for the services but you swipe your card on the pad and it unlocks the bike. You can then deposit the bike at any other station. IoGuido is a car sharing service that you can rent buy the hour or days. It’s convenient for those who don’t have a car but could surely use one when they want to go up the mountains or perhaps head to Ikea for some shopping!

As you can see, it’s not hard to do your part in making this world a bit better.

*This post was written in celebration of Earth Day. What small but effective changes can you make to help the planet?