阅读理解
A new rubbish sorting
system (垃圾分类系统) has been put into use in Fangchengyuan Community in Beijing. Local
people not only sort their rubbish, but also put QR codes (二维码) on it.
"When the rubbish
is collected and the codes are scanned (扫描), I will
get reward points to exchange for small gifts and even some money," one of
the local people told reporters. "It's really creative and encouraging."
This smart system has
been carried out in 350 communities in Beijing. The capital of China has joined
a list of cities in the country that take action to support rubbish sorting. For
example, Shenzhen and Shanghai have made laws to punish people and
organizations for not sorting rubbish correctly.
China produces quite a
lot of rubbish every year. Much of the rubbish is buried (填埋) in soil or burned without being sorted. Landfills (填埋场) take up a lot of land and have a risk of polluting the soil and
water nearby. And burning rubbish can produce harmful gases. Through rubbish
sorting, we can reduce the use of landfills and air pollution.
What's more, rubbish sorting
saves resources, which could bring economic benefits (经济利益). For example, a ton of waste paper can be reused to make about
850kg of paper, saving 17 trees and 50 percent of water. Because of their
benefits, some countries have developed successfully sorting systems.
In Australia, every
family is provided with three rubbish bins—the red lid (盖子) bin for "general waste" like food and plastic bags, the
yellow lid bin for "recyclable (可回收利用的) waste"
like steel and glass, and the green lid bin for "green waste", such
as grass and leaves. On the street, the bins are printed with pictures of the
things that are allowed inside. It makes recycling quite easy.