Beijing's waste sorting goes back to basics

Beijing will pioneer a new, simplified mode of garbage sorting in certain communities later this year, according to which residents only need to separate kitchen waste from other waste before disposing of it. Fawan.com comments:

How to process household garbage has long been a headache for Beijing and other cities.

The experiences of other countries shows the most efficient way of cutting the amount of waste lies in residents sorting their waste before disposing of it. In some developed countries, there are strict laws that require residents to sort their disposals into kitchen waste, recyclable waste, metals, and plastic, and so on. Data show that sorting can help to cut the amount of garbage by 30 to 50 percent.

However, in China many residents have not yet formed the habit of sorting their waste yet. Besides, some residents complain that they have sorted the garbage and put them into different barrels, only to see them being mixed together by the garbage collectors.

Another reasons residents have been slow to adopt garbage sorting is the fact that some cities have tried to sort garbage into six kinds, which can be challenging for some residents.

The new idea is better because all that residents need to do is to separate their organic kitchen waste from the rest. Actually, many residents keep a garbage bin in the kitchen, so the new plan is much easier to implement.

Besides, with kitchen waste being picked out, it is easier for garbage collectors to find useful things in the rest of the garbage, which creates jobs. Moreover, reports show authorities plan to encourage residents to sort kitchen waste by a point system, in which residents gain points by sorting kitchen waste and could exchange the points for toilet paper or hand washing liquids. We hope the new plan will help residents to form the habit of garbage sorting.