Trash is an unintended consequence of China’s economic boom, urban swell and growing middle-class. Cities’ landfills are running out of space, and waste management policies have been lagging. Essentially, the whole system has been dependent upon hundreds of thousands of individuals who have been sorting and recycling trash around the country for a living. Here is an interesting analysis about why local authorities ought to keep these people in business through appropriate financial incentives instead of pushing for waste incinerators to solve the trash issue.
Why China needs to support its waste pickers
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