Have the huge, stinky trash bins in your compound been replaced with neatly ordered and color-coded wheelie bins? Are you suddenly being surveilled as you take the trash out, or interrogated as to why you are putting soft plastic in with food scraps, and dead batteries? Fear not, because city-wide recycling reforms have well and truly arrived in the capital. While Haidian District officially began the rollout on May 1, we’ve noticed compounds all over the city are already enforcing the new rules.
Once completely rolled out, it will be up to households to divide their trash into four categories (or risk incurring a fine):
- Kitchen waste: Perishable garbage generated in the household, such as organic refuse, meat and bones, and leftovers, etc.
- Recyclables: Items that are no longer usable but can be reused after processing after recycling, such as waste paper, plastics, glass, metal, electronic waste, fabrics, etc.
- Hazardous waste: Toxic and hazardous household substances, such as batteries, lightbulbs, paint and solvents, sanitary products, disinfectants, medicines, and camera film, etc.
- Other waste: Household garbage that does not easily fall into the three categories above or is difficult to identify.
In addition, large waste products such as furniture and household appliances should be deposited at a designated drop-off location. Construction waste generated during renovations etc. should also be separated and deposited at an area to be specified by the local government, with the individual to bear any processing costs.
If that all sounds overwhelming, then you’ll be happy to hear that a few enterprising developers have already jumped on the opportunity to make our lives that little bit easier. One such mini-program is Beijing Trash Classification Reference (WeChat ID: 北京市垃圾分类宝典) which tells you how to correctly dispose of any item that you query. While lacking an English option, the app is easy enough to navigate for non-Chinese speakers thanks to its reliance on icons, and this also makes it a great learning tool for children. After all, to make the transition from ‘chuck it out and forget it’ to a conscientious trash shorting system, we will have to marshall the resources of the whole family! And what a better way to continue the conversation with your kids about the importance of sustainable choices and recycling.
Simply search 北京市垃圾分类宝典 in WeChat to find the mini-app.
As well as options to search by item name and voice search, the most useful function for foreigners is the nifty option to search by picture. Simply click 识别照片 and take a picture of the item you want to recycle. The program should recognize it and provide the appropriate classification.
Alternatively, kids can practice their hanzi and type in the name of the item they wish to dispose of.
If nothing else, the app makes for a fun, low-rent Chinese dictionary that you can point at objects and retrieve the Chinese characters for. Go on, test yourself.
KEEP READING: How to Talk About Recycling in Mandarin
This article originally appeared on our sister site, the Beijinger
Images: Jasmin Sessler (via Unsplash), Beijing Trash Classification Reference
