Thanks for sharing this. Very nice to read your experience, both fears and hopes.

Hi there! I just went through the comments and thought I'd share what's going on in Canada (where I'm from).

There was a recent announcement to fulfill a promise that Justin Trudeau made when he was elected. First, parents will soon be able to take up to 18 months off (up from 12 months) – but this means receiving less payment per month. It gets stretched out.

Additionally, mothers will be able to leave work up to 12 weeks before the due date (was 8 weeks before). Parents can already split the leave as they choose, but nothing is changing here. Quebec has a specific 5 weeks they give additionally to fathers, who can use it or lose it.

There are, of course, some requirements in place before parents qualify for these benefits. For example, one must have worked at least 600 hours in the past year (roughly 12.5 hours per week on average).

More details here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/mothers-day/federal-budget-2017-maternity-leave/article34414374/

Jes, this immediately reminded me of the packaging for cigarette boxes in Canada. When I was younger, I remember they sold the boxes behind the counter at stores, with small warning lables on them.

Fast forward to the present day, and they now hide the boxes under the counter (you need to ask for them) and almost the entire package is a warning label. The company barely has real estate to put any branding on the thing.

Of course, this is all an attempt by the government to curb cigarette use. And clearly, higher taxes have helped reduce cigarette purchases across the country (a friend worked for the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project run in Waterloo, ON). Labels are only part of the equation.

Which brings me to my point! Why not approach this from a policy level? Lobby for larger recycling labels on recyclable products, and perhaps it could move in the direction of where Canadian cigarette boxes are today. Of course, try to use something positive instead of negative.

Here's an example to get you in the mood: http://wpmedia.o.canada.com/2012/11/tobacco-labels-1.jpg

I believe Australia has very similar laws.