Taking out the trash

Great article in CS Monitor today about the growth of trash in China. It seems that we Americans are no longer #1 in trash production! (I don't know how this is possible given that my neighbors throw out enough trash on garbage pick-up day to sink a battleship, but anyways.....) The good folks of Hong Kong threw out  an estimated 2,000 pounds of garbage per person last year with Americans throwing out around 1,700 pounds per person.

There is currently little environmental awareness amongst the citizens of China (I could say the same things for the U.S.) and the government is attempting to change this. Some sort of incentive program you say? Nope. This being China the incentive comes in the form of a penalty. Residents of several Guangzhou suburbs have had to start sorting their trash into recyclables, trash, and kitchen waste or face up to a 500 yuan penalty (about $78).

It will be interesting to see if this approach to trash reduction will work. Could it work here? I doubt it. I am sure someone would point out that we have a constitutional right to as much trash as we want (do you hear my sarcasm?).