仁爱之心催生巧妙发明

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Paul Ketz （Product Designer）： When I’m sitting there and just observing people throw their empty bottles away， and somebody else a few minutes later come and dig it out of the trash bin， I felt a bit sad about that.

This is Paul Ketz， a 25-year-old product designer in Cologne. He hates seeing the city’s less fortunate have to dig through trash cans to collect bottles for money. It’s not something most people would associate with Germany， where there’s a strong economy and welfare system， but bottle collectors are a common sight here. Paul saw them walking from trash can to trash can searching for plastic or glass bottles， which can be 1）redeemed for a small deposit of between 8 and 25 cents.

Paul： A lot of people don’t know about the fact that many people are reliant on the deposit of collecting it. Not just homeless， as a lot of people expect.

So， Paul decided to invent something that would make it easier for empty bottles to get to the people who need them.

Inside this large， dusty warehouse， he’s putting the finishing touches on his creation. Paul bends over a long wooden table and sparks fly as he works on the yellow metal ring.

His invention is called the “deposit ring.” It’s a metal circle designed to attach around public trash cans， and the ring has several spaces to hold empty cans and bottles， so beer and soda drinkers will have a place to put their empty containers， and bottle collectors can find them with a bit more dignity， instead of digging through the trash.

Paul： People who see the idea first time in real life， they， mostly it’s a “2）aha moment，” because it’s so simple and it makes sense.

And it doesn’t just make sense for collectors. It’s also a matter of public safety. Here in Cologne， like in most German cities， it’s legal to drink beer in public， so， on the weekends， partiers leave glass bottles on the streets， where they can break， or they’re just tossed in the trash. In fact， Paul says 250 million literally went to waste in Germany last year from deposit bottles being thrown away. And that money could make a big difference in the pockets of Germany’s poor.

Paul began working on the solution two years ago in design school. The deposit ring started as a class project， but he wasn’t sure if it would work in real life， so he set up a test in Cologne last year to find out.

Paul： So I attached it at a really crowded 3）crossroad， where a lot of people partying in bars around there. It worked so well I couldn’t believe my eyes. The people were using it [as] if it was there forever. Collectors， who were passing by， they didn’t look in the trash bins anymore.

It worked so well that the City of Cologne wanted 10 deposit rings installed in the city’s club district， even though there was no money to pay for them. Local politician Andreas Poetken found a way by working with local businesses.

Andreas： Then we said， “OK， if the money is the reason， we， all the clubs here and nearby gave the money.” And [they] said， “OK， give us one.” Paul and I worked a lot at this project. I’m very proud.

Paul hopes his invention will not only help improve the lives of bottle collectors， but also start a larger discussion about Germany’s invisible lower class.

Paul： These are no beggars. I think that every single person has to become sensitive.

Paul says dozens of cities in Germany have now requested their own deposit rings. So small changes in what we do with our empty beer bottles could end up making a big difference.

Paul： I can change people’s minds in a positive way， and I think this is a really natural beginning of a big change.

保罗・凯茨（产品设计者）：我坐在那里，看着人们把空瓶子扔掉，然后几分钟之后就有人过来，把它从垃圾桶里挖出来。看到这些，我觉得有点难过。

这位是保罗・凯茨，今年25岁，是德国科隆的一名产品设计者。他不喜欢看到城市里那些穷人为了收集空瓶子卖钱而不得不在垃圾桶里翻找的情形。德国有强盛的经济和良好的福利体系，因此大多数人很难把这件事与德国扯上关系，但捡空瓶子的人确实又随处可见。保罗看到他们从一个垃圾桶走到另一个垃圾桶，寻找空的塑料瓶子和玻璃瓶子，他们可以从每个回收的空瓶子拿到8到25欧分不等的押金。

保罗：许多人并不知道，很多人靠收集这些空瓶子换取押金生活，但是，与许多人所想的不同，这些人并不一定是无家可归。

于是，保罗决定要发明一个什么东西，好让那些捡空瓶子的人更容易收集到它们。

在这个到处是灰尘的大仓库里，他正为自己的发明进行最后的处理。保罗在一张长木桌前弯下腰，他在加工一个黄色的金属圈，火花四射。

他的发明叫“瓶子存放圈”。这是一个挂在公共垃圾桶上的金属圈，圈上有好几个可以放置空罐和空瓶的格子，这样人们喝完啤酒和喝完汽水后就有地方放空容器了，而瓶子收集者也可以更有尊严地找到它们，而不是去翻垃圾桶。

保罗：第一次在生活中看到这个，大部分人都会恍然大悟，因为这其实很简单，很有用。

这个设置不仅对瓶子收集者有用，它也有益于公共安全。科隆与德国的其他大部分城市一样，在公开场合喝啤酒是合法的，所以在周末，参加狂欢派对的人会把玻璃瓶留在大街上――玻璃瓶有可能被打碎，或者人们会把瓶子直接扔入垃圾桶。保罗说，事实上去年在德国，仅仅是因为被扔掉的瓶子没有被回收再利用，就有两亿五千万欧元被浪费了。而这笔钱对德国穷人的腰包可是一个大数目。

保罗两年前在设计学校时就已经开始为此事寻求一个解决办法。存放圈最开始是他的课堂作业，但他当时并不确定它在现实生活中能否奏效。因此他去年在科隆进行了一次试验。

保罗：我选择在一个繁忙十字路口的垃圾桶上挂上这个存放圈，这里有许多人到附近的酒吧里狂欢。它所起的作用非常明显，我都不敢相信自己的眼睛。人们都在用它，仿佛它原本就一直在那里放着似的。而路过的瓶子收集者也不再翻找垃圾箱了。

这个存放圈的效果是如此之好，科隆市当局想在市里俱乐部集中的区域放置十个这样的存放圈，尽管当时他们并没有钱来支付这笔费用。当地的政客安德烈亚斯・波克恩通过与当地企业合作找到了解决方法。

安德烈亚斯：于是我们说：“好吧，如果钱是个问题，我们让这里以及附近的俱乐部来支付这笔费用。”他们说：“好吧，给我们一个存放圈。”我和保罗在这个项目上付出了很多心血，我真的很自豪。

保罗希望他的发明不仅仅可以改善瓶子收集者的生活，而且可以借此引发一场大型讨论，一场关于德国鲜有人关注的下层社会的讨论。

保罗：他们不是乞丐。我觉得每个人都应该对此更加敏感。

保罗说在德国已经有数十个城市提出了请求，要在自己的城市放置这种存放圈。所以我们对这些空瓶子所做的小事最后会带来巨大的变化。

保罗：我可以以积极的方式改变人们的想法，我想这是引起巨大变化的一个非常自然的开端。