When your pen is broken, you think that’s the end of its life. You throw it away. It then joins tons of other garbage in cities. Each day, about 10,000 tons of trash is produced in Guangzhou。
In other countries, the case is similar.“If you’re like most of us, most Americans, you’re making seven pounds (3.17kg) of trash a day,” US writer Edward Humes told CNN. 所以一个美国人一生中会制造102吨垃圾。
If you simply throw away that broken pen, it goes to a landfill and is buried(填埋) together with many other trash. To prevent polluting the water, workers cover the trash with soil and keep it dry. And your pen will stay there for a long time without being used again. But it could have a better destination: the recycling bin.
你曾经注意过街道上垃圾箱的不同颜色吗? Many cities in China have been running a waste-sorting (垃圾分类) campaign. They divide trash into “recyclable(可回收) waste” and “unrecyclable waste”. Recycling waste can save energy, reduce greenhouse gas, and keep landfill space free for the unrecyclable trash.
Take your pen for an example. At the recycling factory, its metal parts could be used to make other things. But recycling is not enough. “The best thing to do is just keep using your stuff for as long as you can,” US writer Adam Minter told Time Out magazine.