From recycling waste products to walking in the streets to sorting garbage into the community——
The garbage doesn't stop, they don't stop working
Our reporter Wu Lirong
From May 1st, Beijing has implemented new regulations for garbage classification, and garbage instructors have appeared in many communities. Many of them were migrant workers who had been engaged in waste recycling before, and they have dealt with garbage for many years, so it is handy to start garbage classification. Li Ming and his family are mainly responsible for the sorting of kitchen waste. Not only do they instruct community residents how to empty the garbage, they have already developed the habit of sorting garbage.
Wearing a hat, mask, and rubber gloves, open and dump the garbage bags in the food waste bin one by one, and then pick out the garbage bags and other non-food waste and throw them into other garbage bins next to them-May 13, reporter When he saw Li Ming, he was sorting the last two food waste bins in the morning.
Li Ming, 38, is one of the three waste sorting instructors in the Zhongshili Community, Donghua Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing. The other two colleagues are his father and wife. Two generations of their family have come to Beijing from rural Anhui. They have been walking through the streets and yelling and collecting waste products until now as garbage sorting instructors, and have been dealing with garbage for 28 years.
"Trash is not a holiday." Li Ming told reporters. He repeats the work at hand and does not stop working on holidays, every day.
"Separate a kitchen waste bin for at least 20 minutes"
Although it was originally going to work at 7:30 in the morning, Li Ming came at more than 6 o'clock every day, "It's hot, work well early."
Almost every residential building in the Zhongshili community has a trash can station, which is composed of several black other trash cans and green kitchen waste trash cans. Garbage bags and other trash are thrown into black barrels, and rotten trash is thrown into green barrels. There are 32 such garbage cans in the whole community.
Beijing implemented the new regulations on garbage classification from May 1st, and it is recommended that residents set up “two barrels and one bag” for collecting garbage at home, that is, kitchen waste bins, other garbage bins, and bags containing recyclables such as paper, plastic bottles, and cans. . In the Zhonglili community, the other trash bins at the trash bin station are sorted by the cleaning staff of the property company, and the remaining about 60 kitchen waste bins are "contracted" by the Li Ming family.
Sorting food waste bins is not an easy task. Li Ming needs to untie and dump every plastic bag containing food waste in the bucket, and then use tongs to pick out the non-food waste that the residents mixed into it. "A bucket needs at least 20 minutes." The smell in the food waste bin was so disgusting, "I can't stand it at first", but he got used to it after a while.
Some residents have not formed the habit of sorting garbage, which adds a lot of trouble to Li Ming's work. "There are dozens of bags in a bucket, often big bags and small bags, everything." He told reporters that he has experience now, and a glance at the "shape" of a garbage bag can determine its contents.
The food waste bins in the community need to be divided once in the morning and once or twice in the afternoon. Before and after sorting, you need to take pictures and upload them to the workgroup. Every minute a bucket, Li Ming must use a measuring rod to measure its weight. On the sign next to the 179 trash can station, the reporter saw it read: 1335 kg in April.
After sorting all the barrels, we must move into the kitchen waste collection and transfer special vehicle, pull it to the community's garbage transfer station, and then load the garbage in the small barrels into the big barrels. Come and transport away. The new empty bucket should be put back in the trash can station, and wipe the lid with a cloth dipped in 84 disinfectant.
He returned home at noon and cooked a tomato and egg noodle. Li Ming and his father and his wife ate together. After lunch, after a few minutes of rest, they went out to work again.
Sorting in the morning, recycling in the afternoon
Li Ming started as a waste sorting instructor in April 2018. Prior to this, he did waste recycling. "My parents all recycle waste, and more than 20 relatives in the family do it." Li Ming said, "We in a village basically recycle waste in Beijing."
Li Ruling's father Li Ruling came to Beijing in 1992 to collect waste products. In 1997, Li Ming also came to Beijing. At that time, they rode tricycles through the streets every day and shouted to collect waste products.
Originally still self-employed, in 2006, Li Ming had a "unit" and he became an employee of Beijing Tianlong Tiantianjie Recycling Resources Recycling Co., Ltd. Since then, he has been recycling waste products in the faithful community. "The earliest is to send business cards, others will call me to come to the door, and now they use the mobile app to place orders."
In 2018, the Zhongshili community began to implement garbage classification as a pilot in Dongcheng District. The street hired the company to do garbage classification. Li Ming took the post after attending a dozen training courses. Since then, he has mainly dealt with food waste bins in the morning, and has come to collect waste products in the afternoon. Work from 6 am to 20 pm every day and take a half-day rest every Monday afternoon. "I've done two jobs, and I can earn 6,000 yuan a month," he said.
Ma Rui, the person in charge of the waste classification project of Li Ming's company, told reporters that there are currently about 100 front-line workers in the company's waste classification, most of whom have been engaged in waste recycling before. "I stayed in our unit for more than ten years and paid back the insurance, there is a guarantee." Li Ming said.
Garbage sorting is not so difficult
At a trash can station in the Zhonglili community, the reporter saw a young man who had just come downstairs and threw a plastic bottle into the kitchen trash can. After seeing it, Li Ming picked up the bottle. He also often explained to residents how to classify garbage, "now much better than before." The community also often organizes garbage classification publicity activities, and Li Ming attends every time.
"Li Ming they are really hard." Community staff Li Lin said. She told reporters that the community also has volunteers to cooperate. Every building now has a propagandist, instructing residents to throw garbage by the trash can station twice a day.
Li Lin showed reporters the video she had taken that morning, and several old men did not need to be reminded that they had already volunteered to "nakedly throw away" garbage-dump kitchen waste into a green bucket, and then throw the garbage bag into the black bucket next to it.
There are also some “great people” in the community, and everyone will gather together to share their own experiences: for example, do n’t put garbage bags in the kitchen waste, it is more convenient when you pour it out; bring a paper towel to wipe your hands when you throw away the garbage Use your foot to pedal the kitchen waste bin ...
As for recyclable garbage, as long as the community residents place an order on the mobile phone, Li Ming will come to the door to collect it. There are two resource recycling houses in the community, which are filled with cartons, plastic bottles, used home appliances and other items. The community has also placed two red buckets for hazardous waste in accordance with relevant regulations.
In Li Ming's own home, they have already developed the habit of sorting garbage. He rented a bungalow near the community. Two old paint buckets were placed in front of his house, one for kitchen waste and the other for garbage.
At lunchtime, the reporter saw the neighbor next to his house pouring leftovers into the kitchen waste bin. "My two barrels are in charge of our four." Li Ming said to the reporter with a smile.