Mandarin Monday: Handy Guide on Household Waste Classification

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REC

Gone are the days where you can throw away anything without a care in the world. In fact, Beijing will embark on a course to take care of the environment through its new waste sorting policy. Shanghai already implemented it’s city-wide household trash sorting system in July of last year, and Beijing will be the second Chinese city to follow suit.

Beijing had been preparing for this new system to start, as Chaoyang District has already created 16 household waste transfer stations that will be in operation by the end of April, just in time for the new policy to begin on May 1.

So how will this new system affect the way you have to throw away trash?

Starting on May 1, all households will be required to sort their trash by method of disposal, such as incineration, landfill, and recycling. This trash will be further divided into four categories: recyclable materials, hazardous waste, “wet” or food waste, and “dry” or other waste.

While sorting through recyclable materials and hazardous waste may be easy enough, trying to figure out what is considered  “wet” or “dry” waste will be sure to give anyone a headache. Trying to figure that out will require an entire blog of its own! For now, use this handy guide to figure out how to understand the categories of waste, and some examples of acceptable waste for each category in Chinese!

Recyclables 可回收物 kě huíshōu wù

Waste paper 废纸 fèizhǐ-Newspapers 报纸 bàozhǐ
-Magazines 杂志 zázhì
-Flyers 传单 chuándān
-Books 书 shū

Plastics 塑料 sùliào

-Plastic meal boxes 塑料餐盒 sùliào cānhé
-Plastic beverage bottles 塑料瓶 sùliào píng
-Foamed plastics 塑料泡沫 sùliào pàomò

Fabrics 布料 bùliào

-Clothes 衣服 yīfú
-School bags 学校书包 xuéxiào shūbāo
-Table cloths 桌布 zhuōbù

Metals 金属物 jīnshǔ wù

-Tins 罐头盒 guàntóu hé
-Ring-pull cans 易拉罐 yìlā guàn

Food Waste （“Wet” Waste）厨余垃圾 chúyú lājī （shī lājī）

Vegetable leaves 菜叶 càiyèLeftovers 剩菜 shèngcàiFruit peels and kernels 果皮和果核 guǒpí hé guǒhé

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Hazardous Waste 有害垃圾 yǒuhài lājī

Wasted modulator tubes 灯管 dēngguǎnWasted paint 废弃油漆 fèiqì yóuqīCosmetics 过期化妆品 guòqī huàzhuāngpǐnWasted drugs 过期药物 guòqī yàowù

Other Waste （“Dry” Waste）其他垃圾 （干垃圾）qítā lājī（gān lājī）

Toilet paper 厕纸 cèzhǐBroken bowls 碎碗 suìwǎnDust 渣土 zhātǔCeramics 砖瓦 zhuānwǎ

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Photos: CGTN, the Beijinger CN

This article first appeared in our sister publication the Beijinger CN

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