The garbage sorting in the United States had a dramatic beginning. According to a report by China Public Radio in the United States, in the 1980s, Lowell Harrison wanted to make a money-making business by turning garbage into methane to generate electricity, so he bought 3,186 tons of garbage in New York, which was piled up to 6 meters high, loaded it on a ship, and went south to find a landfill for disposal, but this attracted onlookers and hostility from people in coastal states. Even after the US Environmental Protection Agency's test showed that it was just domestic garbage, rumors that the garbage contained toxic substances still could not be quelled. When a landfill in Florida expressed its willingness to accept it, tens of thousands of local residents showed up to protest. Neighboring Mexico, Belize, and the Bahamas even sent troops to explicitly reject the garbage ship. After a 5-month, 6,000-mile journey, Harrison's ship transported the garbage back to New York for incineration under the order of the judge. Harrison, who wanted to turn waste into treasure, suffered heavy losses, but this became a landmark event and contributed to the beginning of garbage sorting and recycling in the United States.

Each state and city in the United States has a detailed introduction and educational promotion activities on garbage sorting. On the official websites of local relevant departments, residents can see the requirements for garbage classification and the schedule for garbage collection by the sanitation department.

Take New York as an example. The city produces 14 million tons of garbage each year, which the city government manages through two independent systems, public and private. The public system handles garbage from residences, government buildings and some non-profit organizations, which accounts for a quarter of New York City's total garbage and is under the responsibility of the Sanitation Department. The New York City Sanitation Department claims to be the largest sanitation department in the world, with an annual budget of US$1.5 billion, a total of 2,100 garbage collection trucks, 430 road sweepers, 300 front loaders, 360 salt trucks and 1,000 light trucks. Other garbage is generated by businesses, which must pay licensed garbage workers to take the garbage away.

Residents need to separate their garbage into mixed solid waste, that is, non-recyclable garbage and recyclable garbage in advance. There are two main categories of recyclable garbage. One is paper and cardboard products, such as newspapers and magazines, phone books, mixed paper, mail and envelopes, receipts, wrapping paper, softcover books, pizza boxes, paper cups and corrugated cardboard boxes. Food-contaminated paper, hardcover books, bubble wrap, photos, waxed or plastic-coated paper, etc. cannot be recycled. The other category is metal, glass and plastic products, such as metal cans, wire hangers, pots, curtain rods, small appliances mainly made of metal, glass bottles, plastic bottles, hard plastic food containers for yogurt, cooked food, biscuits, etc., furniture, buckets, large toys and large appliances, etc. Large pieces of hard plastic.

Garbage trucks go to the street curb to collect garbage at fixed times every week. Apartment properties are responsible for centrally packaging the classified garbage of all residents, while owners and tenants of independent houses and townhouses need to sort and pack the garbage themselves and transport it to the curb. Generally, it is required to transport the garbage to the roadside after 4 pm on the day before the collection day. Large garbage trucks will take away the garbage that meets the classification regulations and is packaged in accordance with the regulations early the next morning, leaving the non-compliant garbage. If the property or residents do not take back the garbage that does not meet the classification specifications in the first time, they will be fined for affecting the city appearance. Of course, putting the garbage on the roadside too early will also be punished.

In addition, before discarding any refrigerator or freezer, water dispenser, dehumidifier, air conditioner or other type of Freon-containing equipment, you must apply in advance for a special Freon recycling. Disposal of other large furniture such as sofas and bed frames must also be applied in advance. Mattresses and spring beds must be packed in plastic bags before they can be placed on the roadside to prevent the spread of bed bugs. Carpets and wood need to be bundled and cannot exceed the size.

New York City is currently promoting the classification, recycling and utilization of food scraps and yard waste. Currently, the New York City Department of Health provides a weekly organic waste collection for 3.5 million residents in the five districts of New York City. After collection, these organic wastes will be converted into compost and clean energy.

For electronic waste such as televisions, monitors, keyboards, mice, fax machines, etc., which are growing fast, in large quantities, and are harmful to the environment, New York City requires them to be sent to special recycling sites. If electronic waste is mixed with ordinary garbage or recyclable garbage, a fine of $100 will be imposed. Citizens can send electronic waste to one of hundreds of recycling points by themselves. Apartment buildings with 10 or more households can participate in the "New York City Electronic Recycling" project, where the property will collect the electronic waste of the owners, and then the municipal government will send special personnel to collect it at the door. In addition, citizens can also choose to donate old electronic devices to charities, take them to electronic retailers such as Best Buy to exchange old for new ones, or send them back to the manufacturer.

In addition, household hazardous waste such as toxic household cleaners, paint thinners, pesticides, fire extinguishers, mercury-containing fluorescent bulbs and tubes, thermometers and thermostats, and car batteries also need to be recycled separately.

New York City also has trash cans for classified recycling of garbage in public places such as street corners and parks. To help citizens and tourists better sort their garbage, simple graphics are used on the garbage bins to mark which garbage can be thrown into which bin. The city government also strictly stipulates that residents cannot throw domestic garbage into garbage bins in public places, and violators will be fined.

However, despite the very detailed provisions for garbage sorting in New York, its garbage recycling rate is only about 30%. According to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an average American produces 4.4 pounds of garbage every day, of which about 1.5 pounds are used for composting or recycling, which means that the United States only avoids sending 34% of garbage to landfills.

The reason for the low garbage recycling rate is weak management. Citizens still have many non-compliant areas in the process of garbage sorting, and the classified garbage bins in public places are even more useless. Although there are fines, the amount is not large and the punishment seems weak.

The United States not only has laws on the disposal of solid and hazardous waste at the federal level, but each state has laws prohibiting littering, which can impose fines of hundreds of dollars or community service and other penalties, and each city also has relevant regulations. However, the enforcement efforts vary from place to place. Residents who do not comply with waste classification are rarely punished because it is difficult to trace the source when non-compliant items are found when the garbage is transported to the sorting station or landfill. When the garbage trucks collect the garbage that residents put on the roadside, they cannot conduct detailed inspections one by one due to limited time, limited manpower, and large workload. In public places, due to the large flow of people, there are almost no supervisory and management personnel, so garbage classification depends entirely on the environmental awareness of citizens. (Wang Wen)

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