Beijing on its way to enhancing garbage classification

China Plus Published: 2019-07-16 19:18:58
Comment
Share
Share this with Close
Messenger Messenger Pinterest LinkedIn

The Beijing Urban Management Commission has said that the city is initiating its first pilot program in garbage classification.

A total of 224 blocks and townships are included in the pilot waste classification program, which covers 60 percent of Beijing's blocks and townships.

People are required to sort garbage into four categories - kitchen waste, other waste, hazardous waste and recyclables.

A trial site of garbage classification, Beijing. [File photo: IC]

A trial site of garbage classification, Beijing. [File photo: IC]

The city is also working on garbage truck transiting standards. Colors of the truck will be in line with the colors of the garbage cans, which are, blue truck for recyclables, green for kitchen waste, red for hazardous waste and grey for other waste. Meanwhile, garbage collecting times will also be shown to residents.

At some pilot blocks, there are credit exchanges to encourage residents to sort their waste, in which residents can get certain points for sorting their garbage, and when they accumulate enough points, they can go to the community to exchange it for some gifts of daily use.

The trial program in Beijing is expected to establish specific waste management regulations. A set of rules is expected to ensure that no garbage is collected and transported before it is sorted properly, in order to enhance residents' awareness of garbage classification.

Beijing's action follows Shanghai's announcement on mandatory household garbage sorting early this month.

It is reported that the total amount of kitchen waste in Beijing rose to 170,200 tons in 2018, an increase of 58.2 percent from the previous year.

China has encouraged people to sort household garbage voluntarily for decades. While more people have realized the importance of garbage classification, the effect was not so great in terms of collection.

China's central authority has recently issued a notice to ask all cities at the prefecture level and above to start work on the promotion of household garbage classification this year.

Related stories

Share this story on

Most Popular