The Way of Classifying Rubbish Is More Effective to Protect Environment and Save Resources

How do we deal with rubbish produced by our daily life such as recyclable rubbish or hazardous rubbish? Normally, all kinds of rubbish are transported to dump and buried, but it costs too expensive. Is there any more effective way to deal with rubbish? Of course, classifying rubbish and using different ways to deal with different types of rubbish is the answer.

How to classify rubbish? Rubbish are usually classified by ingredients, output and combined with suitable recycling and disposal ways. In Germany, rubbish is classified as paper, glass, metal, plastic and so on. In Japan, rubbish categories are combustible rubbish and non-combustible rubbish.

Nowadays in China, rubbish can generally be divided into four categories: recyclable rubbish, kitchen rubbish, hazardous rubbish and other rubbish. The ways of handling rubbish for different categories include recycling utilization, landfill, burning and composting.

In past, landfill is the main way to deal with rubbish, but it brings negative impacts such as pollution and waste. Through classifying rubbish, the amount of rubbish and equipment used for handling rubbish would lessen, which can reduce cost and the consumption of land resources. The advantages of way of classifying rubbish are following:

Firstly, plentiful land can be saved. Some rubbish contains materials, which are not easily degradable and harmful to the soil. If we use classifying ways, the amount of such material can be reduced up to 50%.

Secondly, pollution will be reduced and the quality of environmental will be improved. Disused batteries contain toxic metal substances such as Mercury or Cadmium, which is harmful to people’s health. Waste plastic buried in soil would lead to decrease crop production. Besides, animals would die if they eat discarded plastic.

At last, abandoned things can be turned into useful things through some particular methods. For example, the number of plastic box for fast food is 40 billion every year in China. One ton of waste plastics can be refined 600 kg of diesel oil. If 1,500 tons of waste papers are recycled, many trees for paper producing can be avoided being hewed. One ton of cans can be melted down to form a ton of aluminum, 20 tons of aluminium mines can be saved. All in all, 30% to 40% abandoned things can be recycled to make our environment better.

Tagged as: Classifying, Effective, Environment, more, Protect, Resources, Rubbish, Save