Dustbins in UK and China

When I first came here as an exchange student in UK, people frequently asked my feeling towards this remote life. "What is the most impressive difference compared to your life in China?" My answer, "the dustbins".

Yep, you didn't get it wrong. It's the dustbins that impress me a lot. Every house in the UK has three 1.2 meters dustbins, which are different in lid colour, representing recycled waste, green waste (e.g. grass) and general waste. Every Tuesday morning, I watch the sanitation truck come and take out the trash from the dustbins which are taken to two sides of the road by its owners. Other public dustbins alongside the road are well labeled with recycled waste, non-recycled waste, and dog waste. Moreover, each classroom in my university is equipped with paper waste bins.

Dustbins in the UK

Each year the UK generates approximately 280 million tons of waste, which has the potential cause for huge environmental damage. Apparently, the UK government is well aware of this and works to improve the waste disposal system every year.  To date, about 40% of household waste has been recycled in 2011, compared to 11% in 2000.

Now let's think about China. We never take recycling too seriously. Household waste is never separated into recycled and non-recycled bins. Public dustbins are mostly mixed waste bins. You may argue that we do have twin bins separating the recycled waste and general waste. But please ask yourself, do you try to differentiate them before you litter? No, you don't. You know it won't make a difference because city workers will take them both as mixed waste. But when I am in the UK, I don't want to get it wrong because that means additional work for the sanitation workers.

Three dustbins

Of course, recycling is never easy. The initial investment costs a fortune. Some materials are too expensive to recycle and it is hard for a community to recover from the cost quickly. This is probably the reason why China cannot start recycling nationwide. But there is another essential reason, people's unwillingness to help. I'm not saying that Chinese people are lacking in social responsibility compared to other nations, but when we are used to tossing litter without even giving a second look at a dustbin, it's really hard for us to allocate thoughtfully putting it into the right one.

Despite all these difficulties, efforts should be made to improve the environment. Recycling is not just about saving money. It's about taking care of our world.

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Photos taken by Catherine Zhang