Actively classify garbage

The loudspeaker of Thanh Binh Ward residential area (Hai Duong City) early in the morning reminded about waste classification at source. Mrs. Hoa carried the garbage bag to the collection point at the alley entrance, met Mrs. Minh, she immediately said:

- Have you sorted your trash at home? It's too much trouble.

Mrs. Minh took out a big bag of trash and said with a smile:

- Why are you so careful? Put them all in one bag to save time. Separate them and when the garbage truck comes to collect them, they'll put them back in. That way it's even.

Hearing Mrs. Minh say that, Mrs. Hoa gently reminded:

- Don't you know? They have started to classify waste at source. Because there is no place to collect and process organic waste, the city has divided household waste into 5 types: waste that can be reused or recycled; hazardous waste; bulky waste; inert waste and remaining waste (including organic waste).

Hearing Ms. Hoa list 5 types of garbage that need to be separated, Ms. Minh complained:

- Why so many types? It's hard to separate into two types, let alone so many types of trash. I think no one would do it that complicated.

- No, ma'am! There are regulations for sorting garbage. If you don't sort it, you'll be fined, said Mrs. Hoa.

Mr. Hung stood nearby listening to the two women talking and added:

- Mrs. Hoa is right. Didn't you see the loudspeaker reading this morning? Families and individuals who do not classify household waste or use packaging to contain household solid waste will be fined from 500,000 VND to 1 million VND.

Mrs. Minh asked in surprise:

- Is the fine that heavy?

- Seriously, I'm not joking. Decree 45/2022 of the Government regulating administrative sanctions for environmental violations has been in effect for more than a month. Our city is special so we have to classify it into 5 types of waste. If we don't classify it, recyclable waste will be mixed with food waste, making it very difficult to handle. So many plastic bottles and recyclable paper are buried, which is both polluting the environment and wasteful, Mr. Hung said.

Mrs. Minh hesitated for a moment when she heard about the punishment and then said:

- That makes sense… But it would take a lot of time to classify them like this.

Mrs. Hoa added:

- It's a bit confusing at first, but it's easy once you get used to it.

The story of Mrs. Hoa and Mrs. Minh attracted the attention of Ms. Ngoc, a garbage collector, who was pushing her cart to the alley entrance. Listening to the two women talking, Ms. Ngoc added:

- You two, sorting trash like that is great! We collect tons of trash every day. If everyone sorted it like you guys, the process would be much faster. And the landfill wouldn't be overloaded either!