Xiaoyu is pulled up at the bins: she has sorted, but not enough, and the bag itself is a problem.
The caretaker
姑娘，这个袋子不能扔在这儿。
Gū niang, zhè gè dài zi bùnéng rēng zài zhèr.
Miss, that bag cannot go in there.
Xiaoyu
为什么？这不是垃圾桶吗？
Wèishénme ? Zhè bùshì lājītǒng ma ?
Why not? Is this not a bin?
The caretaker
这个桶只放可回收的。你的是厨房垃圾。
Zhè gè tǒng zhǐ fàng kě huí shōu de. Nǐ de shì chúfáng lājī.
This bin is for recyclables only. Yours is kitchen waste.
Xiaoyu
我分过了。纸和塑料在另外一个袋子里。
Wǒ fēn guò le. Zhǐ hé sùliào zài lìngwài yī gè dài zi lǐ.
I have sorted it. The paper and plastic are in another bag.
The caretaker
那这个袋子里是什么？
Nà zhè gè dài zi lǐ shì shénme ?
And what is in this bag?
Xiaoyu
是昨天的菜和饭。
Shì zuótiān de cài hé fàn.
Yesterday's vegetables and rice.
The caretaker
那要放绿色的桶。而且袋子不能一起扔。
Nà yào fàng lǜsè de tǒng. Érqiě dài zi bùnéng yīqǐ rēng.
Then it goes in the green bin. And the bag does not go in with it.
Xiaoyu
袋子也要分开？
Dài zi yě yào fēn kāi ?
The bag has to be separated too?
The caretaker
对。把菜倒进去，袋子扔在旁边那个。
Duì. Bǎ cài dào jìnqù, dài zi rēng zài pángbiān nà gè.
It does. You tip the food in and put the bag in the one next to it.
Xiaoyu
这么麻烦，大家都做得到吗？
Zhème máfan, dàjiā dōu zuò de dào ma ?
It is such a business, does everyone manage it?
The caretaker
头半年很难。现在除了几户以外，都分好了。
Tóu bàn nián hěn nán. Xiànzài chúle jǐ hù yǐwài, dōu fēn hǎo le.
The first six months were hard. Now, apart from a few households, everyone sorts properly.
Xiaoyu
分错了会罚款吗？
Fēn cuò le huì fákuǎn ma ?
Are you fined for sorting wrongly?
The caretaker
我先提醒。提醒三次还不改，才会罚。
Wǒ xiān tíxǐng. Tíxǐng sān cì hái bù gǎi, cái huì fá.
I give a warning first. Three warnings with no change, and only then is there a fine.
大家都做得到吗: does everyone manage it? The complement 到 marks the goal reached, and 得 says it is possible. Unlike 能做, which speaks of permission or ability, 做得到 weighs the real difficulty. Its negative, 做不到, is the admission that you cannot keep to something, and it is a much used sentence.
除了几户以外都分好了: everyone sorts properly, except a few households. The same mould as in lesson 1 changes sense because the second half carries 都 and not 还: there you were adding; here you are excepting. That is the only thing to remember about this construction, and it is always checked on the word after the comma.
Compulsory sorting distinguishes four categories, depending on the city, with coloured bins: recyclable, kitchen waste, hazardous waste and everything else. Food scraps are tipped into the bin and the plastic bag goes with the general waste, which is the least obvious step. Fines exist, but compound caretakers give warnings first, as here.
