如何处理中国的垃圾？烧了它 [美国媒体]

What to Do With China's Trash? Burn It.

如何处理中国的垃圾？烧了它



THERE'S A BETTER WAY.

有一个更好的方式。

Shenzhen, China's high-tech boomtown, sprung a surprise on its 12 million-plusresidents this week. Construction has begun on three giant, state-of-the-artincinerators to handle the heaving tide of trash that the city tosses outdaily. One of the mega-burners -- resembling an American-style football dome --will be the world's largest waste-to-energy plant when it opens in 2018.

深圳，中国的高科技新兴都市，于本周为其一百二十多万人带来了一大惊喜。三大巨头已经开始了建设，使用最先进化的垃圾焚化炉，来处理这个城市每天扔出去的多如浪潮的垃圾。其中一个巨大的燃烧器——就像是一个美式的圆顶足球场——当它于2018年开启时，将会成为世界上最大的将废物转化为能源的工厂。

Far from being ominous, however, that giantburner is good news for Shenzhen -- and for the environment.

但是，这并不是不吉利的，相反，这个巨型熔炉对深圳而言是个好消息——同时对环境而言也是个好消息。

Thirty years ago, with middle-classconsumers still rare, Chinadidn't have to contend with the large volume of trash that affluent societiesgenerate. But like so much else in China, garbage has changed, and ina big way. Today, Chinathrows out more stuff by weight than the U.S., making it the world's biggesttrash generator. By 2025, the World Bank estimates it will toss out 1.4 milliontons of garbage a day -- nearly tripling its current rate.

三十年前，中产阶级消费者还比较少见的时候，中国还不必面对富足社会所产生的大量垃圾。但是正像中国许多其他的事情一样，垃圾已经改变了，而且是大幅度改变。今天，相比起美国，中国扔出去的垃圾要多得多，成为了世界上最大的垃圾制造国。到2025年，据世界银行估计其每天将会扔出140万吨垃圾——将近是现有速度的三倍。

The trouble is that China alreadygenerates far more trash than it can safely handle. Last year, scientistsdetermined that Chinawas the largest contributor to the millions of tons of plastics that enter theocean every year, via mismanaged (or not managed) waste dumps. Drive to theoutskirts of any Chinese city and you'll run into a ring of informal landfillsemanating all kinds of un-recyclable stench.

问题是中国所产生的垃圾，已经远超过其可以安全处理掉的量了。去年，科学家们认为中国是最大的垃圾入海国制造者，制造了数百万吨垃圾，全都由于管理不善（或是未管理）而倾入海洋。开车去到中国任一城市郊区，你就会看到一圈非正规垃圾场，而且还散发着各种由于未进行再回收而散发出来的恶臭。

Shenzhen might be ground zero for thisproblem. In 1979, the city generated 50 tons of solid waste a day. Now, it's generating15,000 tons a day. Its trash heap is growing by 6.1 percent annually. Thatgrowth comes with risks, and not just the environmental kind: In December,dozens of people were killed when an unlicensed landfill for constructiondebris collapsed.

深圳很可能是这个问题的起源地。在1979年时，该城市每天产生50吨固体废料。现在，它每天产生15000吨垃圾。该城市的垃圾堆正以每年6.1%的速度增长。这一增长速度也带来了风险，而且并不仅仅是指环境方面的：去年12月，由于无证掩埋建筑废物的倒塌，造成了数十人丧生。

Ideally, Shenzhen would recycle itsproblems away. For decades, Chinese scrap peddlers combed urban streets foranything reusable, and made a remarkable contribution to keeping cities clean.But the ranks of migrant laborers who flocked to that kind of work arethinning. And city governments, with an eye on property values, are pushing outthe small-time recycling markets that enabled the trade. More pertinently, in aslowing economy, manufacturers simply can't use everything that's beingrecycled: The world is over-supplied in commodities, and that goes for bottlesand cans, too.

理想情况下，深圳将会彻底解决其问题。几十年来，中国的废品商贩们都在城市街道上，到处搜寻一切可回收利用的东西，并且为城市的保洁工作做出了非凡的贡献。但是融入城市做这类工作的农民工还是很少的。而城市政府，只着眼于房产价值，正排挤这些规模小，却能推动回收贸易的三流回收市场。更中肯一点说，在放缓经济下，制造商无法使用一切回收过的东西：这个世界上的大宗货物已经供过于求了，而这放在瓶瓶罐罐上，也是一样的，都已经供过于求了。

Landfilling still has its place, but China's driveto urbanize means that today's remote garbage dump is tomorrow's urbannuisance. That's what happened in Shenzhen, where one major landfill has beenexpanded six times and now abuts newly built apartment towers, where residentsunderstandably complain about the smell. The central government, meanwhile, isincreasingly concerned about reducing soil pollution, preserving arable landand ensuring long-term food security. Landfills don't help any of those goals.

垃圾掩埋场仍然还有其位置，但是中国正努力追求城市化，这就意味着今天遥远的垃圾堆将会成为明天的城市公害。这就是所发生在深圳的事情，那里曾有一个大型垃圾掩埋场，前后对其进行过6次扩建，现在毗邻一处新建的公寓大楼，可以理解，大楼里的居民们一直在抱怨其气味。与此同时，中央政府越来越关心要减少土地污染，保护耕地，确保长期的粮食安全。而垃圾掩埋场对达到这些目标起不到任何帮助。

That leaves incineration. In recent years,incinerators have caused protests and riots among Chinese concerned about theirhealth and property values. They have a point: Historically, China's trashincinerators have been environmentally hazardous. But lately, cities such as Shanghai have been trying to emulate (and import) theadvanced and environmentally secure waste-to-energy incinerators that Europeand Japanrely on. The projects underway in Shenzhen follow that model. According to thelocal government, they'll actually exceed European Union emission standards.

这样就还省下垃圾焚烧。近年来，垃圾焚烧厂引起了人们的抗议和暴乱，因为中国人越来越关心他们的健康和房产价值。他们有一个观点：从历史上而言，中国的垃圾焚烧厂一直是对环境有害的。但是最近，像上海这样的城市一直在试着模仿（和进口）先进的、环保的、安全的将废物转化为能源的废物焚化炉，就像欧洲和日本一直依赖使用的那些。正在深圳进行的项目也遵循这种模式。据当地政府表示，实际上，他们所使用的将会胜过欧盟的排放标准。

That's worth cheering. But it shouldn't bethe end of the discussion. For incineration to gain wider acceptance, localgovernments will have to be more transparent. Waiting to announce anincinerator project until after construction has started -- as Shenzhen did ---doesn't help. To ensure that incineration doesn't undermine recycling, itshould be paired with so-called pay-to-throw programs, in which residents aretaxed on the volume of trash they're tossing. Finally, the government shoulduse its considerable administrative power to encourage alternatives to thesingle-use, unrecyclable packaging that's currently clogging China'slandfills and waterways.

这是值得欢呼的。但是这不应该是这场讨论的结束。为了使废物焚化炉能获得更广泛的认同，当地政府将要变得更透明化。直到项目已经开始施工了——就像深圳所做的这样——才等着宣布一个废物焚化项目，这并没有什么帮助。以确保该类焚烧不会破坏任何回收，它应该与所谓的“付款了再扔”项目相搭配，这样居民就要为他们所扔的垃圾量纳税。最后，政府应该要利用其强大的行政权力，鼓励生产用来替代一次性的、不可回收包装的产品。目前，这类不可回收的包装产品经常堵塞中国的垃圾填埋场和水管道。

There are no easy ways to take out China's trashproblem. But burning is a necessary step to addressing it.

要解决中国的垃圾问题，没有什么简单方法可言。但是焚烧是一个解决问题的必要步骤。


John Spencer • 3 days ago 
I always see comments like China is theworst emitter of CO2. Well, yes, for two reasons, it has the highestpopulation, or second perhaps to India,and more importantly, all that CO2 is from the plants that make a huge numberof products for the US.We are indirectly responsible for these emissions. Another point, China is theworlds leading country in renewable energy production.

我总是看到有评论说中国是最大的二氧化碳排放国。嗯，是的，这个现象有两个原因，一是人口数量最多，或者是排在印度之后成为人口第二大国。还有一点更重要的，所有的二氧化碳都是来自为美国生产大量产品的工厂。对于这些排放，我们是有间接责任的。另一个观点，中国在可再生能源的生产上是世界级先进国家。

John Spencer • 3 days ago 
Incinerators are a great alternative toburning coal. Incineration obviously will emit CO2, but so does coal, and inabout equal amounts. Incinerators can have very good scrubbers/precipitatorsinstalled, and assuming the operating temperatures are above 1800deg F, therisk of things like dioxin from the combustion of treated wood is minimized.Obviously the incinerators heat will be used to generate steam for powergeneration. I say obviously, but I really don't see why they wouldn't.

焚烧炉是燃煤的伟大替代品。焚烧肯定是会排放出二氧化碳的，但是烧煤也一样，而且二者的排放量是差不多的。焚化炉可以安装很好的洗涤塔/除尘器，而且假设其操作温度高于1800度，那么对诸如木材燃烧产生的二恶英的处理风险就降到了最低。很显然，焚化炉产生的热将会用于生成蒸汽用于发电。我说是很明显的，但是我真的不明白为什么他们不这样做。

Jerry • 3 days ago 
Very good article on what I see as one ofthe biggest problems for the heavily populated urban areas of the world, pushedforward by ever growing populations & modern throw away societies. Theworld is rapidly approaching the time when population growth in some parts,must be brought to a stand still. Face it, people make pollution & too manypeople make unbearable pollution.

这是一篇很好的文章，而且其内容是与<我所认为的世界人口稠密城市地区最大问题之一>相关的，这一问题的产生是因为一直以来不停增长的人口数量，以及扔掉现实社会之后的现代化。当一些地区的人口增长到一定程度的时候，世界就会飞速步入那个时代的，肯定会保持原地不动了。直面现实吧，是人们制造的污染，而又有太多的人制造了令人无法忍受的污染。

Liberty  @Jerry • 3 days ago
not according to the over-crowdedEU..........they're so desperate for more people they importing unskilled,uncouth, fast breeding muslim and african refugeeze

不是根据拥挤不堪的欧盟所提供的信息……他们迫不及待地想要拥有更多的人口，他们正在纳入不熟练的、笨拙的、快速繁殖的穆斯林和非洲难民们。

Kelly Luck @Liars N. Fools • 2 days ago
Please - Let us know ALL the wonderfulbenefits of burning trash {besides its cheaper) to the enviroments etc...

拜托了——将燃烧垃圾会为环境带来的所有好处（除了它比较便宜之外的）都告诉我们吧……

jimt5367 @Kelly Luck • 2 days ago
Video about Hamburg's solution:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8StpMP9eDoo

关于汉堡的解决方式的视频：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8StpMP9eDoo

Kelly Luck @jimt5367 • a day ago
Thanks - Fantastic site !

感谢——真是极好的网址！

Jimmy • 3 days ago
Trash today is a majority of plastics -that is petroleum. Just need lime injected bag houses to collect the chlorine-then sell the Calcium Chloride for ice control.

当今的垃圾大多都是塑料制品——那就是石油。只需要用注入了石灰的袋滤室来收集氯——然后卖掉氯化钙来换取冰控制技术。

Bernt Bowles • 3 days ago
If Bloomberg is so obsessed in publishingjunks or trashes of China,why not eat these to satisfy its appetite for a while.

如果彭博社如此痴迷于刊登中国的废物和垃圾，那为什么不把那些吃掉，来满足它一时的胃口呢。

Daniel Barger • 3 days ago
China isalready the number one producer of CO2 and most all other 'environmentaldangers'. While they will promise to do this 'cleanly' that costs money....andmoney comes before anything else. These incinerators will just exchange oneproblem that is local for another that goes everywhere.

中国在排放二氧化碳和大多数其他的“环境危险”方面都是排在第一位的。在他们承诺说将“干净地”解决好这个问题，尽管这会耗费钱财……但是钱仍然会排在所有事情之前。这些垃圾焚化炉只会将一个地方问题变成无处不在的问题。

John Spencer  @DANIEL Barger • 3 days ago 
The incinerators should be equipped togenerate steam and thus electricity. The coal usage will thus be reduced, andthus the CO2 should stay nearly the same. I would have to see more details though,like are they in fact installing the steam generation capability. I don't knowwhy they wouldn't.

这些垃圾焚化炉应该要配备齐全，然后产生蒸汽和电力。煤的使用将会被减少，这样的话二氧化碳才会保持在几乎一样的排放量上。尽管我将会想知道更多的细节，比如说他们是不是真的有安装蒸汽引擎的能力。我不知道他们为什么不这样做。

Ed Jack • 3 days ago
that could be arranged

那可能是已经安排好了的

Thom Preston • 3 days ago
Well written and informative. Very niceintroduction to this issue.

文章写得不错，信息量也不错。对这个问题也介绍得很到位。

Leaves in the wind • 3 days ago
Perhaps, the 3 Rs would be better for theChinese state, than new incinerators or landfills. One could learn from itsneighbors, Japan and Taiwan in thatregard.

很可能，3R法则对中国而言，会是比新的垃圾焚化炉或者垃圾掩埋场更好吧。在这方面，可以从其邻国日本和台湾吸取经验。

John Spencer  @AdamMinter • 3 days ago
There is a very large incinerator near Newark NJ.Other than the steam coming off the building you can't tell it's running.

在新泽西的纽瓦克市附近有一个非常大的焚烧炉。要不是有蒸汽从那栋楼上冒出来，你都不知道它正在运作中。

Leaves in the wind  @AdamMinter • 3 days ago
True that, could you send me links/evidenceto back up your claims? My knowledge on 'clean' incinerator tech is inadequateto say the least.

如果那是真的，你能将有关链接/证据发给我来支撑你的言论吗？至少我在有关“干净”焚化炉技术方面的知识还不足以支撑我发表什么言论。

AdamMinter @Leaves in the wind • 3 days ago
You can click some of the links in mypiece, or just google Japan,incineration. There's pages of info.

你可以在我的主页上点击一些链接，或是直接去搜索一下日本，焚化炉。会出来好几页与之相关的信息。

existanceonly • 4 days ago
the mind boggles with the thought of China'strash,................................

脑子里全是与中国的垃圾相关的想法了，……………………

Frederick King • 3 days ago
They will likely increase the amount of groundtrash used as food supplements soon.

很可能不久之后，他们就会增加将地面垃圾作为食品添加剂的用量。