A new rubbish sorting system has been put into use in Fangchengyuan Community in Beijing. Local people not only sort their rubbish, but also put QR codes (二维码) on it.
"When the rubbish is collected and the codes are seen, I will get small gifts and even some money," one of the local people told reporters.
"It's really creative and encouraging."
About 350 communities have carried out this smart system in Beijing. The capital of China has joined a list of cities in the country that take action to support rubbish sorting. For example, Shenzhen and Shanghai have made laws to punish people and organizations for not sorting rubbish correctly.
China produces quite a lot of rubbish every year. Much of the rubbish is buried (填埋) in soil or burned without being sorted. Landfills (填埋场) take up a lot of land and have a risk of polluting the soil and water nearby. And burning rubbish can produce harmful gases.
Through rubbish sorting, we can reduce (减少) the use of landfills and air pollution What's more, rubbish sorting saves resources, which could bring economic(经济的) benefits. For example, a ton of waste paper can be reused to make about 850 kg of paper, saving 17 trees and 50% of water. Because of their benefits, some countries have developed successful sorting systems.
Japan has a strict and detailed system. When people throw away a water bottle, the cap, the waste paper and the bottle itself have to go into three different bins (垃圾箱).
Every year, families receive special rubbish sorting timetables and directions from their local governments. They are advised to follow the timetables and directions when they throw away rubbish.
In Australia, every family is provided with three rubbish bins—the red lid (盖子) bin for "general waste" like food and plastic bags, the yellow lid bin for "recycling" like steel are glass, and the green lid bin for "green waste "such as grass and leaves. On the streets, the bins are printed with pictures of the things that are allowed inside. It makes recycling quite easy.
