This is absolutely insane. China is facing a garbage shortage. Yes, you heard that right, a shortage of garbage. There isn't enough trash to go around. While the rest of the world is overwhelmed by too much waste, major cities across China are not only buying garbage, but even digging up landfills that were sealed over a decade ago. So what's going on here? In fact, China also struggled with being surrounded by trash for many years. That was until 2009, when Du Xiangwan, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, proposed an experimental plan for waste-to-energy incineration. At first, the plan faced heavy opposition. After all, burning garbage releases large amounts of harmful gases. But after 10 years of experiments and improvements, the research team discovered that if the incineration temperature is maintained at 1,100 degrees Celsius, nearly all of those toxic gases can be broken down. Before incineration, AI-powered sorting systems are used to process the waste. Metals are recovered from electronic waste. Plastics are extracted from toys and other products. And only the remaining unrecyclable waste is sent into the furnace. But this isn't just simple burning. The heat from incineration is used to generate electricity. One ton of garbage can produce about 300 to 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Let me tell you an interesting number. In 2024, China generated an average of 719,000 tons of garbage per day. Yet the country has 1010 waste-to-energy plants, capable of burning about 800,000 tons per day. You've probably spotted the key issue. China doesn't have enough garbage. There isn't enough trash to keep all the power plants running at full capacity. That's why this strange business model of power plants buying garbage has emerged. Today, this technology is being exported to over 40 countries, helping them become cleaner and more sustainable.