"This is crazy. The Chinese government just announced that some cities are running out of trash.
Yep, you heard that right. There's not enough garbage.
Some cities are digging up old landfills while others are buying trash from nearby towns.
What's going on? Before 2010, garbage was a huge headache in China.
With its massive population, cities were drowning in trash.
Two-thirds of urban areas were surrounded by waste.
It polluted the air and threatened groundwater.
That's when Du Xiang Wan, a top engineer, proposed a bold idea.
Turned trash into electricity.
Instead of dumping it, China began sending waste to power plants,
where high-tech incinerators burned it cleanly.
No harmful emissions.
Even the leftover ash gets turned into cement for building roads.
The result? No pollution, no smell, and no landfill problems.
Today, China has over 1,100 waste to energy plants.
Each ton of trash produces 200 to 500 kilowatt hours of electricity,
bringing in 15 to 40 dollars per ton.
Now they're burning more than 800,000 tons of garbage a day.
More than cities are producing.
So what do they do?
They've started buying trash for about $7 a ton, just to keep the plants running.
Trash has officially become a valuable resource,
and China is now exporting this technology to over 40 countries.
So here's the question, which country needs this the most?"
Video to text transcript:
"This is crazy. The Chinese government just announced that some cities are running out of trash. Yep, you heard that right. There's not enough garbage. Some cities are digging up old landfills while others are buying trash from nearby towns. What's going on? Before 2010, garbage was a huge headache in China. With its massive population, cities were drowning in trash. Two-thirds of urban areas were surrounded by waste. It polluted the air and threatened groundwater. That's when Du Xiang Wan, a top engineer, proposed a bold idea. Turned trash into electricity. Instead of dumping it, China began sending waste to power plants, where high-tech incinerators burned it cleanly. No harmful emissions. Even the leftover ash gets turned into cement for building roads. The result? No pollution, no smell, and no landfill problems. Today, China has over 1,100 waste to energy plants. Each ton of trash produces 200 to 500 kilowatt hours of electricity, bringing in 15 to 40 dollars per ton. Now they're burning more than 800,000 tons of garbage a day. More than cities are producing. So what do they do? They've started buying trash for about $7 a ton, just to keep the plants running. Trash has officially become a valuable resource, and China is now exporting this technology to over 40 countries. So here's the question, which country needs this the most?"