by Wu Liming

    BERLIN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The last week in late October, the tide in Germany's largest port of Hamburg was rising, much higher than last year. Guido Neumann, a company manager from Hamburg, took his 7-year-old son Leander to the port, strolling along the banks to have a look.

    "I told my son why the tide became bigger. If it continues, we have to build higher dikes to protect our home," Neumann told Xinhua.

    While walking along the dikes, Leander saw the rising tide, and discussed the importance of saving nature with his father.

    Neumann has two sons, Joost and Leander, and he started "environment-oriented" education for his sons when they were only 2 years old.

    "When my sons were 2 or 3 years old, I started to tell them to sort household garbage," Neumann said.

    Now, his younger son, 4-year-old Joost, has already learned to separate paper from food waste, and to put glass bottles into containers for different colors of glass.

    Germany boasts a strict but successful garbage separation and sorting system.

    The recycling system called "Green Dot" has been one of the most successful recycling initiatives. The crux of the system is that manufacturers and retailers have to pay for a "Green Dot" on products: the more packaging there is, the higher the fee. Although Germany produces 30 million tons of garbage annually, this clever system has led to less paper, thinner glass and less metal being used, thus creating less garbage to be recycled.

    Local media predicted that thanks to the "Green Dot" system, there would be a drastic reduction of about one million tons of garbage every year.

    Proper sorting of garbage is another major part of the country's success story.

    Glass is sorted by color. There are containers with different slots for depositing green, brown and clear glass, and residents can find these containers in every neighborhood.

    In Germany, residents usually have five other dustbins at their doorsteps; they are colored green, blue, yellow, brown and gray. Residents should place paper or paper-made packages, biological waste like leftover food, plastic materials and beverage cartons into different bins.

    In some municipalities, there are only green, blue and gray bins at the doorsteps. Neumann said his town follows the three-bin system, and he was glad his two sons are experienced in putting different garbage into different bins.

Special report: Global News Day for Children