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In this fast-paced, highly digital era, the once-hyped garbage sorting and environmental protection actions seem to have quietly withdrawn from the public eye.
I remember that when the concept of garbage classification first emerged, whether it was on the bustling streets or in the quiet alleys, you could see colorful garbage cans, as if it was a beautiful scenery in the city.
TV and the Internet are full of various promotional videos, all of which convey the importance of garbage classification to people. However, in the blink of an eye, these passions seem to be diluted by the river of time, leaving only confusion: is garbage classification a peerless or a flash in the pan?
Looking back at the rise of garbage sorting, Shanghai is undoubtedly the vanguard of this movement. As an international metropolis, Shanghai is not only a window to China, but also a dream place for countless people at home and abroad. With the rapid growth of population and the rapid development of cities, the problem of garbage has become a problem that cannot be ignored.
For example, the Tianziling garbage dump in Hangzhou, where garbage piles up to 100 meters high, have become a huge lump in the city's development. In order to improve the urban environment and improve the quality of life of residents, garbage classification is particularly important.
The purpose of garbage classification is to reasonably distribute garbage according to its attributes, so as to facilitate more efficient ** and treatment. Among the hundreds of millions of tons of garbage we generate every year, there is no lack of resources that can be utilized.
Through garbage classification, not only can environmental pollution be reduced, but also economic pressure can be alleviated to a certain extent. That's probably why stories of people getting rich by picking up trash have spread.
However, the concept of garbage sorting did not originate in Shanghai, but as early as 1996, Beijing already had the prototype of garbage sorting. At that time, the garbage classification was far less detailed and extensive than it is now, and even the garbage cans used for sorting were purchased with saved year-end bonuses. Although the beginning may seem difficult, people by that time had already begun to sort in an orderly manner.
It was not until 1999 that Shanghai made further efforts in garbage sorting, which not only spread domestically, but also had a certain impact internationally. However, the social environment at that time was not conducive to the promotion of garbage classification, and people's understanding of environmental protection was not deep enough, and even the garbage could not be distinguished, which greatly reduced the effect of garbage classification.
In 2019, Shanghai took waste sorting to new heights, transforming it from a personal habit to a social one, and enforcing it through fines and other means. This practice quickly raised residents' awareness of garbage sorting and achieved remarkable results. Subsequently, all parts of the country followed suit, and garbage sorting gradually became a national action.
Still, the actual effect behind waste sorting is questionable. At the end of the day, the sorted waste ends up at the dump, which makes people start to reflect on what is the real meaning of waste sorting.
Human inertia is the biggest challenge facing waste sorting. In the beginning, everyone participated enthusiastically, but over time, the relaxation of supervision and incentives made people much less motivated.
The cumbersome nature of waste sorting and the vagueness of the classification criteria add to the burden on people and make this supposed beneficial environmental action objectionable.
Some cities, in order to promote garbage classification, have made a bold decision: the original garbage cans have been abolished. It all sounds forward-looking, but for residents, it's a test. Imagine that the garbage cans in front of your house are gone, and throwing away garbage has become a long-distance running sport, and you have to run to the distant garbage sorting point every time. This inconvenience is frustrating.
If you think about it, there is no doubt that wet garbage is produced more than dry garbage in daily life. If you don't throw away dry garbage for a day or two, life can go on, but what about wet garbage? As soon as the summer is over, the stench will be unbearable. The reduction of garbage cans has overwhelmed even a small number of sorting garbage houses, and the inconvenience of residents has become increasingly aggravated.
The city's garbage transportation system also seems to be stretched thin in this change. In the days when garbage was not sorted, a garbage truck once a day was enough. However, the sorted garbage needs to be disposed of separately, and the number of garbage trucks has to be increased, which undoubtedly increases the operating costs of the city, which not every city can easily bear.
In this way, garbage sorting has been overshadowed in some areas, and even some places have returned to the starting point, leaving only a few areas that still adhere to it. But, does this really mean that garbage sorting has completely failed?
The answer is not absolute. Although garbage sorting seems to have suffered a setback from a macro perspective, it has achieved considerable success in raising residents' awareness of environmental protection and changing their living habits. The separate bins for wet and dry waste in the dining hall, the cautious attitude of residents when sorting garbage, and the knowledge of garbage sorting in the school curriculum are all evidence that this movement has quietly changed us.
Garbage sorting has not gone away, it still has a place in our lives. While the current results may not be as good as expected, it is in a transition period. Over time, the concept of waste sorting will eventually be widely accepted and the system will become more perfect.
On the road of environmental protection, we have also encountered some seemingly environmentally friendly but actually "reverse environmental protection" phenomenon. Paper cutlery is a prime example. Driven by the plastic restriction order, people have turned their attention to paper products that seem to be more environmentally friendly. However, the production of paper supplies not only consumes a lot of water and energy, but also emits a lot of pollutants such as carbon dioxide during its production.
And, because most paper products are single-use, they actually produce a much larger amount of waste than plastic products. This has forced people to revisit the so-called eco-friendly choices.
This shows the importance of garbage sorting. It's not just about environmental protection, it's about how we think about and choose the details of our lives. Although there are still many challenges on the road to waste sorting, as long as we continue to work hard and raise public awareness, the day will come when waste sorting is no longer an option, but a habit that is deeply rooted in everyone's life.