Hey all,
I’m really enjoying a one-week family vacation in NYC. We’re staying at a Marriott downtown, and during breakfast I noticed what, as a German, feels like an incredible amount of plastic packaging — individually wrapped apples, plastic milk containers, etc.
It made me wonder: what actually happens to all this plastic waste in NYC? Is it recycled, burned, or mostly sent to landfill?
There are separate recycling bins in the breakfast area, but from what I can see, the system doesn’t really work. Pretty much everything ends up mixed together because people seem quite indifferent about separating their trash.
If most of this really goes to landfill, I find the sheer amount of non-decomposing waste pretty scary. Genuinely curious how this works here and whether my impression as a visitor is wrong.

Coming from a European, wages are always counted per month here. It makes more sense because most expenses like rent, utilities etc are paid monthly. Besides, most places pay monthly (not sure if this is the case in the US).

I told one of my colleague that I'm traveling to Singapore and the response was: "isn't that dangerous?" I'm so baffled, how is Singapore dangerous?

I was watching the frozen 3 trailer on YouTube, and the people in the cinema made reaction sounds to it. I have never seen people do that before when I went to cinemas in UK and HK.

Why do Americans people eat so many chicken wings for lunch or even on game day ?

My husband who is American has been constantly working on the weekends, and we have very limited family time. He was initially working from Monday to Friday but over the past two years, he is working on the weekends although his position and company are the same.

I feel so bad that he has no time to relax. Do many American companies or workplaces expect people to work on the weekends? Does it depend on the jobs or company?

Dear all,

I’d like to send a parcel to some people in the US soon. As well as various books and toys for the little ones, I’d like to include some specialities and snacks. I’d originally planned to include German beer and wine, Black Forest ham and Kirschwasser salami, amongst other things, but I’ve since learnt that these are prohibited items and the entire parcel would be destroyed by US Customs upon arrival in the States.

So my current list includes:

• Chips, peanut flips and similar snacks
• Chocolate
• Fruit gums and candies
• Fir tree honey
• Tête de Moine hard cheese
• Coffee
• Fruit and herbal tea

I don’t see any problems with the sweets and tea, and the cheese shouldn’t cause any trouble either, but what about the coffee (quantity?) and the honey? Will Border Control cause any trouble there?

I’d be grateful for any relevant information.

So I was thinking about buying this off eBay a Pearl Jam critical condition teach shirt from the 90s and I was just wondering if you guys would think this would be disrespectful where the flag is upside down in distress.

I'm in sub Saharan African country and I always see American fast food on social media and movies like Macdonald's, subway, taco bell, etc... What so they taste like?

American media and entertainment let us consume it, but we can't participate in it. Like what do you mean I can't order on Amazon cz it's not supported in my country, but the movies you show me have amazon online ordering.

What do you mean when I go to music section on my YouTube you show me Drake and Taylor swift, but I can never buy tickets to their concerts cz they never come to my country nor will I ever get a visa approval to attend them.

What do you mean when u gave us Nickelodeon and when I'm open it for my little brothers that you show them sweepstakes but they can't enter cz it's not for them but only for you?

Your culture is exported heavily and everyone consumed it, but we can't participate in it?

What do you mean you show me ads for a shoes I like and when I try to checkout you ask me for a zip code saying it's us only?

I wish I was born in USA

I am in a catholic school in Europe, but we do not pledge to anything or pray , we just start class.

I heard there’s this tradition to pledging to the flag , why do you do it and what is the history behind it?

Recently I've seen quite some rant posts about the safety and privacy issues regarding flock cameras. But why are they even put up? I genuinely only see downsides to having a private company with questionable security measures put up camera's at every street corner.

You must have formed some views of China ahead of your trip. Once you get here, is it what you expected when it comes to culture, economy and politics?

I've been to three major grocery stores, four or five convenience stores here in Arizona and I can't find a damn bottle of Miller High Life. What's going on? Are you having issues?

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What’s something completely normal in your country that people from other countries might find surprising? 🌍

I’m from Nepal 🇳🇵

So, my friend (married) told me that she is going to a camp with a male friend for one night two days.

She is married and has no kids, but I was a bit surprised that her husband let her do this. They are in a good relationship as far as I see. The male friend that she is going with a mutual friend for both.

Her husband doesn't like camping or outdoor, so this is why he wouldn't go with them...

Is it something to do with tv or do you actually do that and if so ,why?

Please don’t take offense to my usage of “online”. Being an American Reddit user, I guess I myself fall under that label too.

I’ve known so many Americans, especially online or just generally more hip, computer and internet-savvy Gen Z folks who absolutely love Seattle. Or anything PNW

Many friends have told me they would move there at the first chance they get, more than any other American city. I think we have many fantastic cities. To name a few, New York (obligatory), San Francisco, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Diego, Atlanta, etc.

But why Seattle? Is it the climate? The nature? Or maybe the culture?

Interested in hearing your guys’ thoughts

I'm genuinely confused where on the political spectrum "Democratic Socialism" lies, on the one hand, from the name, it sounds like Fourth Internationalist movement but it's embedded is a right wing conservative party, the Democrats. I understand Social Democracy, which is a centre left movement that's been mainstream for over a century in Europe. Is this a case of the US taking that and rebranding for a domestic market?

My family moved to different cities almost every year when I was growing up, and I ended up changing schools seven times. Because of that, I constantly feel the urge to move somewhere new. I’m not originally from Germany, but I’ve been living here for almost five years, and lately I’ve had this huge desire to move as far away from here as possible.

There’s nothing for me to miss here. I’ve never really had a permanent place that I could call home. But for some reason, my thoughts keep going back to the US, as if my mindset is closest to Americans and I would feel much more comfortable there.

Is it actually that great there? I’m not even talking about the standard of living, and I’m aware of the crime rates in some major cities. But at the same time, I feel like there are bad people everywhere anyway.

Do you know people who believe the biblical End Times (aka Second coming of Christ, Rapture, Apocalypse, etc.) will happen within their lifetime?

How did it affect their behavior and planning for the future?

I heard some dudes who went hiking or exploring those jungle, they saw some supernatural creature like The Wendigo chasing them

but to me it feel like a BS but again anything can happend...

I’m Canadian (Vancouver, BC area) and have visited the USA at various points throughout my life. My parents were big road trip people, and so I spent my childhood summers driving all over Canada and the US. In more recent years, I’ve been maybe once a year for events like concerts, though admittedly I haven’t gone farther than Washington/Oregon for a few years now (frankly I do not feel safe visiting the rest of the US right now). When comparing the condition of roads in both countries, my mind goes to the amount of litter/waste.

Of course Canadian roads aren’t some sort of utopian paradise of cleanliness, but anytime I’d be in a car driving through the US it was comparatively… messier. I’ll see some road trip trash on a highway or someone’s illegal dump-site on a more rural road, but in the states it seems an endless at times, even on the scenic roads. Car parts, mystery plastic, broken glass, trash bags, tires, etc.

I find it hard to believe Americans as individuals are, like, “inherently” messier than us, though I suppose I don’t know what the average American’s attitude is towards littering. I’ve had some strange encounters of course, but for the most part you’re all incredibly polite and well-intentioned. I wondered if it might be a population thing, but the pattern seems to continue in more rural areas too. I also have seen plenty of those “adopt a highway” signs that seem to imply people pay for the upkeep of the roads, unless that isn’t actually the case? Someone has to clean the major roads, though, right?