Garbage sorting faces embarrassing situation in Beijing

One can see on the site:

Recyclable garbage is mixed with the kitchen garbage

Six covered trashcans are in a line in front of one of the residential buildings, with four being black and two blue. The blue ones are labeled "recyclable garbage" while the black ones are labeled "kitchen garbage" and "other garbage."

Opening the "recyclable garbage" can closest to the community gate, our reporter saw that it was filled with waste, almost to the top. Scattered peanut shells cover the very top. Searching a bit further into the can, one can see half-done meals in boxes, fruit pieces, etc. All of this waste lies in the can to which they originally do not belong, giving out an acidic smell. Checking the garbage cans according to the serial number of the residential buildings, the reporter saw the leftovers in bags or in bulk in every can labeled with "recyclable garbage." Without checking the labels, it is difficult to make a distinction between the "kitchen garbage" can and "other garbage" can based on the waste inside if one does not check the labels.

While the reporter was checking the garbage can, a middle-aged female resident dropped some garbage in a transparent plastic bag into the "other garbage" can. It obviously was a bag of "kitchen garbage" because the red shrimp peels and green vegetable leaves could easily be seen. When the reporter rushed to her and asked why she did not drop the waste into the nearby "kitchen garbage" can, the resident smiled and left, without answering.

In the green area, north of a residential building, construction waste, including wood shavings, plastic packing bags and fragmented ceramic tiles covers the soil. Even until 5 pm, the pile of waste was still not disposed of.

The residents' response

Some said it is good while others doubted it

The community's residents had different opinions of the "garbage sorting."

Several middle-aged women who were chatting said simultaneously, "We have been doing very well." When asked about why the waste in the cans was still mixed up, they explained, "The adults all drop different garbage into different cans. Maybe it was children who did not make a distinction and dropped all the garbage into the nearest can."

An old man, however, who was wearing a red armband and on patrol about 10 meters away, said, "No, the garbage is not sorted at all." Then some residents walked to the reporter and also said, "The garbage was sorted during the first year of the measure being put in place but now it is not sorted at all." "You will find that no households sort their garbage if you walk into the building." After being asked why, the residents listed several reasons:

First, a couple of years ago, at the beginning of the trial, the community handed out garbage bags to every household. One year later, however, the community cancelled the practice so residents packed up their waste in their own plastic bags. After the "provision forbidding the use of plastic bags" was implemented in 2008, residents had to buy special garbage bags. "If we put different garbage into different bags, we at least need three bags every day and more than 100 bags in one month. You can calculate how much money we had to spend on the bags," said Aunt Wang.