Waste Sorting, a Civic Action

The Necessity of Waste Sorting & Standard Guidelines

Everyone generates a large amount of waste every day. In regions with sound waste management, most waste is disposed of harmlessly through sanitary landfilling, incineration, composting and other methods. However, in many other places, waste is often simply piled up or landfilled, leading to the spread of foul odors and contamination of soil and groundwater.

The cost of harmless waste disposal is extremely high. Depending on the disposal method, the cost of treating one ton of waste ranges from 100 to several hundred yuan. People consume resources in large quantities, engage in large-scale production and excessive consumption, thus generating an enormous amount of waste in return. The consequences would be unimaginable.

Looking at the household waste sorting methods adopted by cities at home and abroad, most are classified based on the composition and output of waste, combined with local waste resource utilization and disposal methods. For example, Germany generally classifies waste into paper, glass, metal, plastic, etc.; Australia divides it into compostable, recyclable and non-recyclable waste; Japan categorizes it into plastic bottles, recyclable plastic, other plastic, resource waste, large waste, combustible waste, non-combustible waste, hazardous waste, and so on.

Under the current situation, waste sorting is a reform of the traditional waste collection and disposal method, and a scientific management approach for effective waste treatment. Faced with the growing waste output and deteriorating environmental conditions, how to maximize waste resource utilization, reduce waste disposal volume and improve the quality of living environment through waste sorting management has become one of the urgent issues of common concern to all countries in the world.

The increase in waste is due to the improvement of people's living standards and the growth of various consumptions. According to statistics, the nationwide urban waste collection and transportation volume in 1979 was over 25 million tons. In 1996, the urban waste collection and transportation cost was 1.16 yuan per ton, four times that of 1979. Although waste incinerated at high temperature does not occupy a large amount of land, it requires a staggering investment. Is there nothing we can do about waste? There is a solution, and that is waste sorting. Waste sorting means putting waste into different categories at the source, and turning it back into resources through classified collection, transportation and recycling.

Advantages of Classified Waste Disposal

1. Reducing Land Occupation

Some substances in household waste are difficult to degrade, causing severe soil erosion. Waste sorting removes recyclable and non-degradable materials, reducing the total waste volume by more than 60%.

2. Reducing Pollution

At present, most waste disposal in China adopts sanitary landfilling or even simple landfilling, occupying tens of thousands of mu of land. What’s more, it leads to swarms of flies and mosquitoes, overflowing sewage and foul smells, seriously polluting the environment. Discarded batteries contain toxic substances such as metallic mercury and cadmium, which pose a severe threat to human health; waste plastic in soil can reduce crop yields; accidents where animals die from ingesting discarded waste plastic occur from time to time. Therefore, recycling and utilization can also reduce such hazards.

3. Turning Waste into Wealth

China uses 4 billion plastic fast food boxes, 500 to 700 million instant noodle bowls and billions of disposable chopsticks every year, accounting for 8% to 15% of household waste. One ton of waste plastic can be refined into 600 kg of diesel oil. Recycling 1,500 tons of waste paper can save the forests needed to produce 1,200 tons of paper. One ton of aluminum cans, when melted, can be made into one ton of high-quality aluminum ingots, reducing the need for mining 20 tons of bauxite. 30% to 40% of household waste is recyclable, and we should cherish this low-cost and high-yield resource. People can also make pencil cases from aluminum cans, which is both environmentally friendly and resource-saving. In addition, other substances in waste can be converted into resources: for example, food, plants and fabrics can be composted to produce organic fertilizer; waste incineration can generate electricity, supply heat or provide refrigeration; bricks, tiles and soil can be processed into building materials, and so on. A mixture of various solid wastes is garbage, but sorted out, they become resources. If we can fully tap the resource potential contained in recyclable household waste, Beijing alone can achieve an economic benefit of 1.1 billion yuan every year. It is clear that timely sorting, recycling and reusing waste generated in the consumption process is the best way to solve the waste problem.

Recyclable Waste

Refers to household waste suitable for recycling and resource utilization, such as waste paper, waste plastic, waste glass products, waste metal, waste fabrics, etc.

Main Types of Recyclable Waste

Newspapers, cartons, books, flyers, plastic bottles, plastic toys, oil drums, wine bottles, glass cups, aluminum cans, old iron pans, old clothes, bags, old dolls, old digital products, old home appliances.

Disposal Requirements for Recyclable Waste

Place gently.

Keep clean and dry to avoid contamination; flatten waste paper as much as possible.

Empty the contents of three-dimensional packaging, clean and flatten it before disposal.

Wrap items with sharp edges and corners before disposal.

Kitchen Waste (Also Known as Wet Waste)

Refers to easily decomposable biomass waste generated from daily household waste.

Main Types of Wet Waste

Food waste, leftover meals, expired food, vegetables and fruits, fruit peels and seeds, flowers and green plants, traditional Chinese medicine residue, etc.

Disposal Requirements for Wet Waste

Pure liquid food waste, such as milk, should be poured directly into the drain.

For wet waste with packaging, remove the packaging and dispose of them separately; put the packaging into the corresponding recyclable or dry waste containers.

Hazardous Waste

Refers to waste that causes direct or potential harm to human health or the natural environment.

Main Types of Hazardous Waste

Waste batteries (rechargeable batteries, lead-acid batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, button batteries, etc.), waste paint, disinfectants, fluorescent tubes, mercury-containing thermometers, waste medicines and their packaging, etc.

Disposal Requirements for Hazardous Waste

Place gently during disposal.

Wrap fragile items with their original packaging or other materials before placing them gently.

Seal volatile items before disposal.

Other Waste (Also Known as Dry Waste)

Refers to other household waste except recyclable waste, hazardous waste and wet waste.

Main Types of Dry Waste

Meal boxes, napkins, wet wipes, toilet paper, plastic bags, food packaging bags, heavily contaminated paper, cigarette butts, diapers, disposable cups, large bones, shells, flower pots, etc.

Disposal Requirements for Dry Waste

Drain water as much as possible.

Put household waste with unidentifiable categories into dry waste containers.

Solutions for Promoting Waste Sorting

1. Establish the Concept of Waste Sorting

Carry out extensive publicity, education and advocacy on waste sorting to raise consumers' environmental awareness of waste sorting, clarify the serious harm of waste to social life, publicize the significance of waste sorting, and call on consumers to actively participate in it. At the same time, teach consumers the knowledge of waste sorting, making it a conscious and habitual behavior for them.

2. Renovate or Add Waste Sorting and Recycling Facilities

A single trash bin can be divided into several compartments or multiple independent classified trash bins can be set up. Waste sorting should be gradually refined—the more detailed and precise the sorting, the more conducive it is to recycling and utilization. Trash bins of different colors can be used to collect glass, paper, plastic and metal packaging waste, plant waste, household waste, and special waste such as batteries and light bulbs respectively. Trash bins must be marked with the recycling categories and brief usage instructions to guide consumers. Trash bins can also serve as a carrier for corporate advertising, with enterprises undertaking the production costs. Community recycling stations can be managed by community property companies or residents' committees to establish waste operation and recycling service functions in modern communities, making waste recycling a way for them to generate income and supplement the shortage of consumers' sanitation and cleaning fees. The government can implement preferential policies such as business tax reduction or exemption to mobilize the enthusiasm of community management. For newly built residential quarters, rational planning of waste recycling stations should be made a necessary condition for approval and acceptance, strengthening the comprehensive functions of new communities.

3. Improve the Form of Waste Storage and Transportation

For large-volume waste, it should be compressed before storage and transportation. In particular, the waste collection trucks of environmental sanitation bureaus should be renovated into compartmentalized ones to load waste by category. Give full play to the role of the original waste recycling channels and resell recyclable waste to enterprises. In addition, establish a special recycling team for the downstream waste industry, with manufacturers recycling waste directly to realize multi-channel recycling and introduce a competition mechanism for price and service, so as to improve their service quality and waste recycling rate.

4. Implement Short-Term Household Waste Collection

Regular classified waste collection by time periods can be adopted—households can keep sorted waste temporarily for a week. Environmental sanitation workers collect easily decomposable kitchen waste such as vegetable leaves every morning, recyclable waste at noon, construction waste in the afternoon, and other waste in the evening. Community or property management departments should regularly provide door-to-door guidance or distribute brochures to new residents to ensure all residents know how to sort waste. Where conditions permit, regularly play videos on foreign environmental protection and waste collection to improve the quality of local residents and cultivate the habit of protecting the environment as protecting themselves.

Standard Operation Methods

When generating waste at home or in the unit, citizens should store or dispose of waste according to local requirements, and pay attention to the following points:

Waste Collection: Adopt sealed and classified collection to prevent secondary environmental pollution. Clean the operation site in a timely manner after collection, and sanitize collection containers and classified trash bins. For collection methods without direct use of waste compression trucks, place garbage bags inside waste collection containers and conduct sealed collection through cleaners.

Before Disposal

Stack paper products neatly as much as possible and avoid crumpling them.

For bottles and cans, empty the contents as much as possible, clean them and then dispose of them.

Package kitchen waste in sealed bags before disposal.

During Disposal

Put waste into the designated places and containers according to the prompts of waste sorting signs; handle glass products with care to avoid breakage.

After Disposal

Close the trash bin lids properly to prevent waste from polluting the surrounding environment and breeding flies and mosquitoes.

The benefits of waste sorting are obvious. After sorting, waste is sent to factories instead of landfills, which not only saves land and avoids pollution caused by landfilling or incineration, but also turns waste into wealth. In this battle between humans and waste, people have turned waste from an enemy into a friend.

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