CRI听力: New Mechanism Helps Boost Garbage Classification

Low-value rubbish is the type of rubbish waste collection companies are reluctant to collect. To reduce the pollution caused by this type of rubbish, and to promote rubbish classification, some environmental protection groups are trying to enhance people's "green responsibility" by establishing a rewarding mechanism.

Our reporter Li Dong has the details.



Rubbish disposal is an issue getting more and more attention with the public. Although burning and landfill are two major rubbish disposal methods, still a lot more efforts are needed to promote rubbish classification, which may greatly enhance current disposal efficiency and reduce pollution.

Zu Lianru has been supporting rubbish classification for a long time. But she is a bit frustrated when she saw what she had done was in vain.

"I classified the rubbish of my family. Like battery, I told the rubbish collectors to put them separately, because they may seriously pollute the environment. But they just throw them together with other rubbish. It's frustrating. I think it will be better if the useable elements can be recycled."

Actually, many people have a strong sense of protecting the environment via what they can do in their daily lives, and they think many other solid waste like plastic bags, battery and milk boxes can also be recycled, they just don't know who they should give them to, so that what rubbish collection companies regard as low-value waste can be best used.

Wang Zixin has been working as environmental campaigner for more than 10 years. A new project he's been working on with his volunteers is to issue a kind of "green responsibility card" to some community residents.

Each card stores the holder's identity in their environmental protection volunteer work ratification system. The card holder gets a certain score according to how much of this low-value rubbish they give to Wang Zixin's environmental protection team and how many hours of voluntary work they've done in their activities promoting environmental protection.

Wang Zixin explains why he wants to build such a mechanism.

"The reason we want to set the score accumulation system is we hope to give people involved a feeling of accomplishment. These scores can be turned into real rewards like the discounts when we sell environment protection products like high efficiency LEDs, or free gifts. By giving incentives, we hope more and more people will join the team in protecting the environment."

Wang Zixin says, they've found enterprises which can make valuable eco-friendly products via this low-value solid waste. For instance, waste plastic bags can be made into bricks, milk boxes can be made into eco-friendly tables and chairs, and Wang Zixin's team is also planning a battery disposal factory with an annual disposal capacity of 1,000 tons.

But Wang Zixin adds, that rubbish classification should still be the prior condition of efficient rubbish disposal.(www.hXen.com)

"Once urban living rubbish is mixed in the dustbin with other rubbish, it's very hard to separate the diffent types, and it poses big threat to our health and environment. We hope people can do the rubbish classification from the very beginning of the disposal process, especially kitchen waste, so more of the useable waste can go directly into the recycling system."

For CRI, I am Li Dong.