It is pronounced "Pooh Bell" and it means garbage. Toulouse has a very active street cleaning/garbage collection work force. (They even wash the streets and side walks!)In fact I can remember when nothing was recycled and the garbage men use to come up to the side of your house to get the can.
Over the years the municipality of Seattle has trained me and now I am so use to recycling everything that it took me a while to get use the system in Toulouse.
The picture shows the "recycle bins" which you find on, what appears to me to be, random street corners. You can recycle most packaging and glass but not plastic bags or food waste.
This is OK for me because I have a fair amount of time I can devote to activities like collecting and strolling with my recyclables. The people we rent from aren't convinced that it isn't just being collected and dumped with the rest of the trash, but even if it is true they think it is a great way to start the process and get people thinking.
Several times a week a big truck with a crane comes by and lifts the container by that thing on top. Once it is over the truck bed the bottom opens and they shake the stuff out.
It still freaks me out to put melon rinds and coffee grounds in the trash. On the other hand I don't have to take them for walks either!
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