Disposal bin
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Photograph taken at the Ningbo airport: those items are not allowed to be taken into the city of Ningbo.
zìyuàn fàngqì wùpǐn tóuqì xiāng
自愿放弃物品投弃箱
"disposal bin for items voluntarily discarded"
Or else.
Selected readings
- "HouseHold GarBage" (12/6/19)
- "Pernicious garbage" ("/8/15)
- "Academic rubbish" (7/13/19)
- "Sort of rubblish" (6/20/15)
- "Do not dumb here" (12/8/14)
AntC said,
October 11, 2025 @ 1:24 am
The New Zealandish is Amnesty bins for
Don't dare bringing in even a sealed pack of crackers from your airline meal, let alone fruit or seafood.
Michael Watts said,
October 11, 2025 @ 8:03 am
What is the wedge-shaped item in the circle on the right? It can't be cheese, can it?
Is biosecurity the concern here? Why is baked bread a biosecurity risk?
Victor Mair said,
October 11, 2025 @ 9:06 am
Once when I was returning to America from some far-flung place, I remembered that a friend had gifted me with a kiwi fruit before departure. As my plane was descending in Philadelphia, I hurriedly ate the kiwi, thinking that, if it was inside of me, I wouldn't be liable for biosecurity regulations.
As I was getting ready to leave the immigration control area, a cute, little beagle began to eagerly sniff at my backpack. I had no idea what it was after. The officer who was in charge of the dog searched through my backpack and found —- the skin of the kiwi I had eaten on the plane.
That delayed my exit by an hour, because I had to be questioned exhaustively and needed to fill out various forms, which, by the way, left me with a record in Customs and Immigration Services files.
Let this be a lesson to all innocent travellers. If you're carrying something questionable, leave it on the plane / train / bus / ship before you enter another country.
Scott P. said,
October 11, 2025 @ 10:01 am
Why would you hang on to the skin?
Victor Mair said,
October 11, 2025 @ 10:39 am
I ate the fruit quickly as the plane was descending and taxiing, didn't have a chance to dispose of the skin.
Andrew Usher said,
October 11, 2025 @ 12:39 pm
First, the term 'biosecurity' in this context is pure bureaucratese and has no logical meaning (there are sensible uses for the word, of course, but not here). The primary reason such regulations are enforced against travelers is that they can be at little apparent cost, as justifications can always be found.
I took the OP as having a negative tone toward such rules (as I find a neutral tone unnatural). Then AntC replied, in a way not unexpected from him, if if actually proud of his nation's having such a comprehensive policy of this uncivilised and tyrannical nature; at least the creation of such a euphemism as 'amnesty bin', presenting an intrusion as a favor, is not specific to NZ.
I can't imagine ever being proud of my country's having any similar rules anywhere, at the most one could accept them as a temporary necessity at some times, but otherwise such infringements on the right to travel are in general indefensible. I am reminded of the misuse of 'passport' in a figurative sense, a creation (it seems) of the advertising industry – and it seems clear that advertising should exhibit all the bureaucratic trends toward dishonest language to an extreme – as a 'passport' is a restriction on one's right to travel, it should not be used in positive senses.
I do not think anyone would naturally find obvious articles of food to be 'questionable' things to be found in possession of, even given the existence of such a category.
k_over_hbarc at yahoo dot com
Victor Mair said,
October 11, 2025 @ 2:29 pm
I have never used the word "biosecurity" before and probably never will use it again. Here I picked it up from one of the previous commenters.
In writing this post and commenting on it, I was very much mindful of the horrors the Chinese population experienced during their zero Covid lockdowns and their perception that the pandemic originated in a wet market in central China.
AntC said,
October 11, 2025 @ 9:45 pm
AntC … actually proud of his nation's having such a comprehensive policy …
Yes I am. And there are intermittently outbreaks of pests that have gotten through biosecurity. (Probably more via commercial imports than airline passengers, but the same rules apply for everything.) Varroa mite devastating our bee hives and therefore honey industry, for example.
Priority list of Potentially Invasive Pests and Diseases | New Zealand
Please don't bring that attitude (nor any biohazards) to New Zealand. I believe (and have experienced) Australia has equally stringent measures for just the same reasons.
AntC said,
October 11, 2025 @ 9:53 pm
infringements on the right to travel
Nobody is infringing on your right to travel to NZ. It's what you're bringing with you that's controlled. That's hardly more onerous than what the airlines limit anyway. No Durians on the Singapore MRT; no Durians on AirNZ flights.