Advertisement
Here's why VR game for sorting trash is trending in China
Shanghai residents are trying to figure out how to separate their trash correctly
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Most VR games aim to immerse you in an environment you can’t (or don’t want to) experience in real life, like a scary, deserted hospital or a roller coaster. But this VR game is different: It wants you to experience classifying your trash.
Video of a VR game booth in Shanghai went viral on Weibo, featuring a game that puts you in front of four sortable garbage bins and asks you to throw the correct type of garbage into them.
It’s a game that probably wouldn’t have sparked any interest normally, but it comes at a time when Shanghai residents find themselves struggling to figure out the right bins for their trash, amid the city’s strict enforcement of new garbage sorting regulations.
Advertisement
Shanghai’s new regulations requires people to separate their trash into four categories: Dry garbage, wet garbage (kitchen waste), recyclables and hazardous waste. Starting from July 1, individual offenders will be fined up to 200 yuan (US$29), and companies risk a fine of up to 500,000 yuan (US$72,378).
Advertisement
What many people find confusing is how to differentiate between dry and wet garbage. As demonstrated by one popular video shared by the state-run People’s Daily, the (dry) shells of sunflower seeds count as wet garbage, while wet napkins belong to dry garbage. A hashtag named “Shanghai residents almost driven crazy by garbage classification” was at one point the second hottest search on Weibo yesterday.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x