The crowd doing laundry
Yangtze River (Wanzhou District)
“Since ancient times, ancient people in China have always liked to wash clothes by the river.” （Sina, 2018）There are also many ancient poems describing the gestures of ancient women washing clothes by the river. This behavior has gradually become a custom. Until now, people in southern China have been washing clothes by the river. People come to the river to wash their clothes because they can save water and chat with their neighbors. All this seems to be a very harmonious and environmentally friendly thing, but it is not.
My hometown is Chongqing. After the Yangtze River impounded water, many citizens in the Wanzhou District of Chongqing took advantage of the convenience brought by the rising river water and brought their dirty clothes and dirty bedding to the riverside of the Binjiang Avenue for cleaning. “Hundreds of people are sometimes gathered, and some people bring in washing machines and washing equipment for long-term rental. ”（Pinghushijie, 2017）A large amount of foam and stains have poured into the Yangtze River, which has born pollution to the water quality in the reservoir area, and has become a negative “landscape.” Under the action of various detergents, large white foam rippling with the river, and the shore is even dirtier. This behavior not only affects the water quality of the Yangtze River but also poses a considerable safety hazard! The hazard will destroy the whole aquatic ecosystem since laundry detergent generally contains phosphorus. When the amount of discharged powder exceeds the purification capacity of the water body itself, it will destroy the aquatic ecosystem. “Phosphorus is very likely to cause eutrophication of the water body, cause algae to reproduce in large numbers, and then cause severe hypoxia in the water body, which will cause the death of fish and shrimp, the odor of the water body, and endanger the safety of the ecosystem.”（Wenmingfeng, 2009）
Could the washing machine solve the problem? There are indeed several brands such as Geli, Meidi in China launched their new product of washing machine, which is cheaper and designed eco-friendly and energy saving. Some circular designs could retard the pollution and waste, but they still cannot fix the real problem that caused that pollution, which is poverty and corruption. In other words, People in a particular area still can not afford the washing machine and get access to electricity. For instance, my grandmother, who lived in Chongqing, could not obtain electricity all the time. In that case, people who lived around that area wash their clothes in the river, and the phosphorus in washing powder polluted the water. That is because of poverty, unbalanced power distribution, and corruption. In other words, the energy-saving wash machine did not fix the problem of water pollution, and some people are still washing their clothes in the river.
Some shared washing machines in some cities are a good circular design, but they need a lot of electricity to drive them, and at the same time it costs 1 US dollars to wash them. This price may be very cheap for people living in cities. But not everyone is willing to spend a dollar on laundry, and the electricity consumed by the washing machine is also a huge amount of energy.
This washing machine is completely manual, and its material is made of relatively low-cost plastic because it is lighter in weight and can control the price. The user unscrews the water injected into the Yangtze River from the water tank, and then closes the lid. Rotate the cylinder by the handle. The washing machine can also be connected to a bicycle for more heavy work. The drying and dehydration of clothes require the discharge of water into a pure water tank set up by the government. Then continue to rotate without closing.
The materials of this washing machine are all recyclable materials, even if they are scrapped, they can be assembled into various parts for reuse. The washing machine does not need any electricity to drive it. This washing machine not only protects the water resources environment but also helps people solve the difficulty of washing clothes. More subtle is that it did not break the habits of people living in the Yangtze River Basin.
References
Sina, 2018. “In ancient times without washing machines, how did the ancients wash their clothes?”
http://k.sina.com.cn/article_6447232483_18048f5e300100596p.html
Pinghushijie, 2017“Should I wash my clothes by the Yangtze River?”
http://www.wzbtv.cn/ryrp/content_28857.shtml
Wenmingfeng, 2009. “Chongqing residents wash clothes by the Yangtze River.”
http://wmf.fjsen.com/2009-02/06/content_1696021.html
