环保 Recycling

没加入慈济前，我从没踏进过环保站。最初对环保的印象是小学时，校长介绍学校的三个由英国石油捐赠的环保垃圾桶。身平第一次做垃圾分类是2005年，当时在日本东京实习。东京规定，垃圾必须分成八大类。宿舍内有专门的房间让大家存放分类后的垃圾。住屋区也有环保站，就在地铁边。到指定的回收日，就会见到居民把垃圾带到环保站。

Before joining Tzu Chi, I have never helped out in recycling before. My first impression of recycling was in primary school when the principal introduced 3 recycling bins sponsored by BP. The first time I sorted out rubbish daily was when I did my internship in Tokyo in 2005. Tokyo required all rubbish to be sorted out in 8 main categories. There was a room in my dorm specially catered for recycling and resident in my residential estate will bring all the sorted stuff to the main recycling point, situated along the railway track.

我在2007年三月间在慈济环保站开始做环保。那时，环保站还设在乌美工业区。负责人毕师伯很高兴得欢迎我加入。当天是周日上午，因为慈济人大多在拜五半晚或周末前来环保，所以环保站没什么人。除了毕师伯外，就只有傅师姑和两位外籍客工。

I walked into Tzu Chi recycling center in Singapore in March 2007. That time, the recycling center was still situated in Ubi industrial park. The person-in-charge, Bi SB warmly welcome me. That was a weekday morning, the recycling center was quiet. Most of Tzu Chi people helped out during friday evening or weekends. Other than Bi SB, Fu SG was there as well, with 2 foreigners.

那天，我就帮毕师伯和两位外籍客工把塑胶袋分类，分成透明的、纯白的、白底但有彩色图案和彩色的。分类好的塑胶袋都装入超大型的塑胶袋，打好结后放一旁。这分类可真是件苦差，满身臭汗，眼镜和手表都弄脏了。有了这经验后，我之后都穿旧衣到环保站，手表也不戴了。

The first time there, I helped out with Bi SB and the 2 foreigners in sorting out plastic bags into transparent, pure white, white with colour patterns and coloured. We will put them into big plastic bags and bundled them up. It was tiring and backbreaking work. I sweat a lot, dirtied my glasses and watch. I learned from my first experience, wear old clothes and leave my watch at home.

毕师伯很友善。潮州人，但会说广东话，福建话和潮州话。潮州话虽然是毕师伯的母语，但他的广东话却足以令正宗广东人汗颜。有时，他会在环保站里播放些潮州歌曲，也就他和我明白那歌在唱什么。

Bi SB is very nice, a Teochew who speak Cantonese, Teochew as well as Hokkien. His Cantonese is perfect for somebody who speak Teochew most of the time. Sometime, he will play Teochew songs in the recycling centers and only he and I understand them.

后来我方知道那两位外籍客工是傅师姑的员工，因为放假而随她前来做环保。再后来，在培训时，师伯告诉大家，傅师姑是因为发现香积组里没人懂得垃圾分类而把能 环保的垃圾都丢掉，所以毅然走进环保站里学环保。学好各种垃圾分类后，傅师姑再回香积组与大家分享所学，并在厨房后巷设了个小型的环保站。（那时，环保站 在乌美，会所在巴西立）

I later found out that these 2 foreigners were Fu SG's workers who happened to be on leave that day. Later I found out during Tzu Chi training that Fu SG first helped out in the recycling center when she realized that our kitchen was throwing away all the recyclable rubbish and nobody in the kitchen knew how to sort them out. Hence, she went to our recycling center, learned all out the various categories to be sorted, went back and taught all the Tzu Chi people helping out in the kitchen as well as started a mini recycling center beside the kitchen. (At that time, our recycling center was in Ubi while Tzu Chi was in Pasir Ris).

当了几次环保志工，慢慢地学到了分类的窍门：塑料袋内的硬纸皮必须分开，如果塑料袋的把柄是硬塑料或尼龙绳，也必须分开；纸类分成黑白纸（价钱高点）、彩色和硬纸皮。矿泉水瓶也分三类：透明、彩色和硬性类；瓶盖格外分类。其他塑料罐依透明度、硬度与大小分类。金属罐则分大小，并区分钢铁和铝。

After several times, I slowly learned to sort out other stuffs: the paper-backing in plastic bags must be removed, the hard plastic or string handles of plastic bags must be separately sorted; paper must be sorted into pure black and white (they fetched a higher price), colored and cardboard. Mineral bottles are sorted into transparent, coloured and hard-plastics; their bottle caps are separately sorted. Other plastic bottles are sorted according to transparency, hardness and size. Metal containers are sorted according to size and differentiate between iron/steel and aluminum.

当然还有各式各样的玩具、摆设品以及电器如VCR或DVD播放机，虽旧但还能用，都是人乐捐的。它们，通通放在二楼。有时，工业区的上班族会过来，以特价请购。

Then there are various toys, display items, electrical appliances like VCR, DVD players that are old but still usable, which are donated by people. They will be housed upstairs and sometimes, people from the industrial park will come over and buy them at a discount price.

后来，因该是在五月，环保站搬回位于巴西立的慈济会所，就在会所后面的空地。因为有直达巴士，方便多了。何况，会所香积组每天提供素食午饭。最重要的是，新的环保站风扇多，对于容易出汗的我，是莫大的福音。

Later in May (I guess), the recycling center moved into the open space behind Tzu Chi building, back in Pasir Ris. It becomes more convenient for me since there is now direct bus. Furthermore, lunch is provided by Tzu Chi. Recycling back in Tzu Chi building is much more comfortable since there are fans around to remove excess heat and sweat.

做环保志工的一大收获是能有机会拆事物，拆过轮椅、电话、风扇、电脑、玩具和另外许许多多。四年的机械工程本科训练，我还没有拿过螺丝刀。一边拆，我就一边想起材料学课上教过的概念，温故知新。其实是挺好玩的，如能一视电话内部的结构。

I always have plenty of chance to try my hands at disassembling stuffs. I tried wheelchairs, telephones, fan, PC, toys and many more. 4 years mechanical undergraduate training and I have never held a screwdriver before. It is actually quite fun, to see what the inside of a telephone really looks like.

真正在环保站学到的是国人是如何的浪费。看看我们分类的衣物，好多都非常新。现在外出购物，我都尽量不用塑胶袋，特别是那些需要很多人工分类的塑胶袋。没来波士顿前，我也在家做起垃圾分类，并把分类后的垃圾带到慈济环保站。

What I truly learned in recycling center is how wasteful Singaporeans are, looking at all the clothes that we sorted, many are still in very good condition. Now when I go shopping, I try not to use plastic bags, especially those that need intensive labour to sort out. Before leaving for Boston, I also started to sort out rubbish at home and bring them to Tzu Chi.

垃圾分类与再循环，我相信这是我一辈子的志愿。

Sorting out rubbish and recycling, I believe that this is what I will continue to do for the rest of my life.