Think of all the things you put into the waste bin in one day. A banana peel from breakfast, plastic covering from a new book you just bought, a chip bag from lunch, a gum wrapper, a paper towel after drying your hands, a water bottle after soccer practice. Now think of how much you may throw away every day as a class, now as a school, now as a town, and now as the entire state of New York. It's a lot! It all has to go somewhere.
In Beijing, there are many ways that the city deals with trash. It can be a huge problem if not managed correctly since so many people live here. Beijing is similar in size to the state of New Jersey. However, there are over double the number of people (about 9 million people in New Jersey compared to about 22 million people in Beijing). One statistic estimated that over 25,000 tons of trash were generated in Beijing every day. That's the equivalent to the weight of 125 adult blue whales!
Mismanagement of trash removal can have serious consequences for people and the environment. A build-up of trash can be dangerous for wildlife. Birds can choke on plastic or get caught in random plastic bags. Rodents can similarly ingest dangerous materials.
