Sorting Rubbish After the Lantern Festival

The environmental volunteers expected to finish sorting festival rubbish before midnight. Four large containers stood behind the community hall, each with a written label. However, when Sian opened the first bag, she found cups, food and paper decorations mixed together. The visitors had clearly not understood the system.

Sian felt annoyed with the crowd until she looked at the containers from the path. In the evening light, the labels were difficult to read. Two were hidden behind an advertising board. If I had been carrying a tired child and three cups, she thought, I might have chosen the nearest opening too.

The volunteers followed their agreed sorting rules and set aside anything they could not handle safely. At the review meeting, Sian brought photographs of the containers as visitors had seen them. Instead of asking for a longer announcement next year, she proposed larger picture labels and a different position near the exit.

The next festival still produced mixed rubbish, but the volunteers spent less time sorting it. They also stood near the containers during the busiest hour to answer questions. Sian no longer described the problem as people refusing to care. Some visitors certainly hurried, but the group had finally made the careful choice easier to see.