18. You might not think much about where your garbage goes. But now you might want to know. On July 1 Shanghai introduced a new garbage-sorting policy (垃圾分类政策). People there need to put different kinds of garbage into different bins (垃圾箱). Other cities in China will do the same soon.
Why is garbage sorting a big problem? It's because there is too much garbage these days. It is bad for our soil (土壤), air and water. Actually we can make use of some garbage again. And first, we need to sort our garbage.
For example, if you put an old battery (电池) into the "harmful waste (有害垃圾)" bin, people can use it to make new batteries. But if you don't, the battery will end up somewhere else. Then, it will pollute the environment (污染环境).
Can't factories sort garbage for us? Yes, they can. But it takes many workers to do this and costs lots of money. If we all sort our own garbage, things will become much easier. Recyclable garbage includes (包含) paper, books, boxes, newspapers, and glass bottles. Harmful garbage includes lamps, batteries, nail polish (指甲油) and other things with harmful chemicals (有害化学物质). Wet garbage usually comes from the kitchen, such as food, vegetables, flowers, leaves (树叶) and eggshells (蛋壳). Dry garbage is anything you cannot put into the other three bins. It includes pens, toilet paper, tape (胶带), hair, and towels (毛巾).