China’s War on Trash Is the World’s, Too
Shanghai’s ambitious recycling program will be a critical test of whether the globe can handle a growing mountain of garbage.
A scrap collector in Shanghai.
Photographer: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
Trash is the talk of Shanghai. Starting Monday, the city will require residents and businesses to sort their waste and recyclables into separate bins. The task is towering: Shanghai generates more than 9 million metric tons of garbage every year and -- like every other city, town and village in China -- it lacks even a rudimentary municipal recycling system.
And China isn’t alone. As of 2018, humans were on track to generate waste at more than double the rate of population growth through 2050, with most of the growth coming in developing countries. Whether or not those nations can establish formal recycling systems will be crucial to managing the world’s trash and minimizing its environmental consequences. China’s experience will be a first, critical test.