| The picture taken on July 5, 2008 shows a drinking bottle recycling machine, the first of its kind in China, on the Nanjing Road of Shanghai. The machine, designed by a Beijing-based company for about 30,000 yuan ($4,292), accepts only plastic or aluminum containers by reading their bar codes; it gives 0.1 yuan to anyone who throws a container into it as a reward. "It will help to reduce the number of waste collectors in the pedestrian street on the one hand, and raise the public's awareness of environmental protection issues on the other hand," said Cao, a director with the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street Management Office. (Xinhua) |
