A new rubbish sorting system (垃圾分类系统) has been put into use in Fangchengyuan Community in Beijing. Local people not only sort their rubbish, but also put QR codes (二维码) on it.

"When the rubbish is collected and the codes are seen, I will get reward points to exchange for small gifts and even some money," one of the local people told reporters. "It's really creative and encouraging."

This smart system has been carried out in 350 communities in Beijing. The capital of China has joined a list of cities in the country that take action to support rubbish sorting. For example, Shenzhen and Shanghai have made laws to punish people and organizations for not sorting rubbish correctly.

China produces quite a lot of rubbish every year. Much of the rubbish is buried in soil or burned without being sorted. Landfills (填埋场) take up a lot of land and have a risk of polluting the soil and water nearby. And burning rubbish can produce harmful gases. Through rubbish sorting, we can reduce the use of landfills and air pollution.

What's more, rubbish sorting saves resources, which could bring economic benefits (经济利益). For example, a ton of waste paper can be reused to make about 850 kg of paper, saving 17 trees and 50 percent of water. Because of their benefits, some countries have developed successful sorting systems.

Japan has a strict and detailed system. When people throw away a water bottle, the cap, the wrapper (包装纸) and the bottle itself have to go into three different bins. Every year, families receive special rubbish sorting timetables and directions from their local governments. They are advised to follow the timetables and directions when they throw away rubbish.

In Australia, every family is provided with three rubbish bins -the red lid (盖子) bin for "general waste" like food and plastic bags, the yellow lid bin for "recycling" like steel and glass, and the green lid bin for "green waste" such as grass and leaves. On the streets, the bins are printed with pictures of the things that are allowed inside. It makes recycling quite easy.

What do you do with your rubbish? Throw it out? You don’t know what you’re missing! Look closely at the two figures on your left. They were made from things most people throw away. The figures were made from used bottle caps. Those two bottle-cap figures were exhibited (展示) in a museum.

Folk art is art made by common people who have not been trained as artists. Their work is often based on traditions in their culture. Fine art, on the other hand, is usually made by people who have had training in art. Works of fine art are valued for their artistic beauty. They are supposed to be looked at but not used. Works of folk art, however, are often made for everyday use.

There were more than 800 pieces of folk art from nearly 50 countries in the exhibition. All of the pieces were made from used metal, wood, cloth, and plastic. The artists come from many different cultures. Still, they all share one thing. They take objects that are normally thrown away and change them into objects that are beautiful, useful, and fun. The artists may not think of what they do as recycling, but that’s exactly what it is. Fine artists might work with expensive materials. They might use expensive tools to shape these materials into works of art. On the other hand, in poor countries rubbish might be the only material folk artists and toy makers can afford. The exhibition shows that a rich imagination is very important when there are only poor materials. Recycled art began long before people began to think about recycling. Some of the objects in the exhibition date from the 1930s.

Even if you don’t create art out of rubbish, it’s good to save our natural resources. Remember the three Rules: reduce, reuse, recycle. If you reduce waste, true things instead of throwing them out, and recycle materials such as paper, plastic, and glass, you will protect the environment.