2 . When your pen is broken, the batteries (电池) in your toys run out, or you have some leftover food, what will you do with these things? You will probably throw them all into one bin. But actually, all of these pieces of rubbish need to be sorted (分类) separately.

Rubbish sorting is a big problem worldwide. In recent years, some Chinese cities have been working hard on it. Shanghai has worked with Alipay to create a “green account (账户)” service. Account owners get points by correctly sorting their rubbish. Through the Alipay app, they can exchange the points for milk, phone cards or other products. The city is asking all people living there to sort their rubbish into four groups: wet, recyclable, harmful and dry.

Wet waste is something you don't want but that pigs can eat. Plastics, glass, paper and other things that can be reused are recyclable waste. Harmful waste includes things like medicine, batteries and bulbs. Finally, any waste that’s not wet, recyclable or harmful will go in the “dry waste” bin.

Many other Chinese cities are also sorting their rubbish in this way. For example, Shenzhen has been doing this since 2012. Students there also receive waste-sorting guidebooks that they must study.

In fact, there are still many workers specially working for sorting rubbish by hand in China. There is still a long way to go. But it’s never too late for every Chinese to learn how to sort rubbish properly and protect the environment.

If you don't sort your rubbish, all of it will go to a landfill (垃圾填埋场) and be buried together.

These landfills can take up much ground that could be used for planting. The electronic waste you throw away, such as batteries or used mobile phones, can cause pollution. Other pieces of rubbish, like the metal part of a pen, can be used to make other things if they are properly recycled.

5 . Before you throw your trash into the nearest can, think for a moment. Not all your garbage can be dumped into one trashcan. It needs to be sorted out with different things going into different bins. Waste classification, a practice that has long been normal in developed countries like Japan, is the new challenge for many Chinese urban residents. However, though initially you might need to rack your brains to figure out which trash goes into which can, in the long run, the result is well worth the effort.

Landfills, sites where waste is buried and covered over with soil, are a major method of disposing of residential waste in China. However, considering the environmental disaster associated with burying waste, there is a pressing need to reduce the amount of waste that goes into a landfill. Classification, sorting waste into different categories such as harmful waste, recyclables and kitchen waste, is a key solution.

Currently, 46 cities across China, are carrying out a program that aims to put in place a classification-based garbage disposal system by the end of 2020. It is hoped that this will reduce the quantity of waste that ends up in landfills by a large degree. Shanghai came into the media focus in early July after it carried out compulsory garbage sorting rules that those who fail to dispose of garbage properly should be fined. Beijing is reviewing its regulations to follow in Shanghai’s footsteps. The new rules may cause short-term inconvenience but they are meant to help residents follow the concept of garbage classification for the common good.

As the programs show, residents can gradually develop this habit with their growing consciousness and the help of advanced technology. In future, this practice should be adopted across China, in urban cities and rural areas alike. With public involvement, China’s garbage sorting program will contribute not only to the nation’s sustainable (可持续的) development but also to making the planet a better place to live in.

6 . The demand for proper waste disposal has become increasingly urgent. While powerful organizations and giant companies are to be held responsible for the majority of carbon emissions（排放）, we can still do our part in reducing our carbon footprints. And it can be done by simple segregation（分类） and proper garbage disposal. In the small city of Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, an app called Hakoot is looking to solve this problem.

Hakoot was created by brothers Efren Jamolod Jr. and Jesrome Jamolod, both lovers of nature. They were first inspired to create the app because of a debate in a Facebook group in Dapitan city about garbage collection problems.

Efren states, "When we looked at it, we thought we can do something about this. So we started to put forward some solutions. We tried to validate（证实） this problem based on our research. It does not exist only in Dapitan. It is everywhere in the country, mostly in third world countries.

Efren explains, "We developed two applications. One for the garbage collectors, and one for the residents（居民）, where they can do real-time monitoring. The garbage collectors will do the garbage collection and they will be able to see the location and the type of garbage the residents will be disposing of. At the same time, the end-user will be able to monitor the garbage collectors' location, when it will arrive, and the distance from his location."

It is noted that it is still up to the individual to segregate. With the pressing issue of climate change, proper garbage disposal can greatly reduce our carbon footprints. Efren says, "It's a huge part of it. Garbage collection is a daily activity. Every day we consume. Therefore, more or less, we produce waste. If that's not handled properly, then there's no recycling, then we need to reproduce more products."

Since July 2019, China’s online food-delivery platform Eleme     1     (carry) out a new service of picking up garbage from its users in Shanghai.

The service comes after     2     recently-released regulation on waste management in Shanghai. Individuals     3     throw away their garbage without being sorted out can be fined up to 200 yuan, while companies and     4     (organize) can face fines up to 50,000 yuan.

The trash takeaway service requires residents to sort     5     (they) own garbage before it     6     (pick) up by workers from Eleme, who will ensure the waste is disposed of in the correct garbage bins.

It’s obvious that this service is     7     (convenience) to the old, especially to the disabled customers.     8    , many netizens on Sina Weibo don’t think Eleme is providing a wonderful service, saying it just wants     9     (make) money. They think 12 yuan for an order is too much. Besides, many more people doubt if these collectors will wash their hands after dealing     10     the trash.