A TRASH CAN SOCIETY

The assumption is often made that extreme poverty may exist in some backward Asian or African countries but that Europe is free from the worst examples of poverty. This is obviously not the case. "To see Gunther rummaging through trash cans in Berlin, you might assume he was homeless. But the 61-year-old is actually one of a growing number of pensioners looking to earn extra cash through bottle recycling. Significant numbers of financially destitute people are now resorting to collecting discarded glass and plastic bottles, which carry a redeemable cash deposit, as a means of supplementing their income. But whereas the majority of those collecting used to be the homeless, alcoholics and drug addicts, more recently it is Berlin's pensioners and long-term unemployed who are increasingly turning to the practice in order to make ends meet." (Der Spiegel, 23 March) Germany may be one of the most advanced capitalist nations in the world but that does not stop it from suffering from the same social problems as all capitalist nations. RD