Restmüll

I just found out the meaning of one of those words whose meaning baffles you until you finally understand and then can't understand how the meaning was ever so baffling. Word of the day: “Restműll”. I have always known this word and knew that it meant “non-recyclable garbage”, but if “műll” was garbage, then what was the meaning of “rest”. What's stupid is that I even knew that “rest” in German was the same as “rest” in English! Only this evening when I was reading the posters in the kitchen about when the different types of garbage are to be put out for the garbage men did I find a writer who phrased the meaning in a way that clicked. The author stated something like, “the rest of the garbage that can't be recycled in the yellow sack or in the compost is to be put in the black container”. Ah hah! I think that my lack of comprehension is cultural in origin. In the United States, the Restműll is the main garbage container with the recycling bin serving a subordinate role. Amazing what cultural context can do for the understanding of vocabulary.