The Chinese Town Where Old Christmas Lights Go 117
retroworks writes "Shanghai based reporter Adam Minter visits where recycled Christmas Tree lighting goes in China. Visiting Shijao, the town known as the Mecca for Christmas tree light recycling, he finds good news. The recycling practices in China have really cleaned up. Plastic casings, which were once burned, are now recycled into shoe soles in a wet process. Minter concludes that even if you try to recycle your wire in the U.S., the special equipment and processes for Christmas light recycling have been perfected in China 'to the benefit of the environment, and pocketbooks, in both countries.'"
Re:From copying to innovation. (Score:4, Interesting)
I trade the market and this was always a question for me, can the Chinese be innovative. And here we have it, they can be innovative. Not that I thought they couldn't. I was just wondering WHEN.
Here is the problem that the US faces, less so in Europe. WTF does America do anymore? I mean really?
Re:Consumption resumption. (Score:5, Interesting)
The real story is that Americans are so wasteful that they'll throw away a string of lights for the sake of one bulb.
The real story is that the EU made China clean up. Okay, Japan deserves some of the credit too.
The EU has introduced various rules aimed at cleaning up the pollution created why products are manufactured and disposed of, as well as protecting people's health. ROHS and WEEE are the most well known, and although technically the only apply to countries in the EU the reality is that China has to abide by them as well in order to sell to us and then recycle our waste.
It is just as shame that two other important initiatives, namely forcing manufacturers to standardise on USB micro/mini for charging and allow batteries to be replaced and removed for disposal, seem to have stalled. None the less it is a triumph for our left-wing socialist nanny-state anti-business anti-competitive anti-trade anti-consumer ecomentalist tree-hugging undemocratic bureaucratic United States of Europe. We made a real difference to our own lives and those of people in China, and even to people in the US since they get a lot of the same stuff from China that we do.
Re:nice piece of ... (Score:4, Interesting)
"CHICOM propaganda ... unfortunately, the CHICOMs still use a single 9mm in the back of the head for dissidents"
Too bad we don't do that for financial crimes. Ever see pics of Chinese executions?
Our smug Wall Streeters who just blew up our economy would look less smug facing shame and shooting. THAT would be an edifying spectacle.