City sets waste-sorting targets for 2020

Every day this year, more than 6,000 tons of recyclable waste should be collected and over 9,000 tons of wet garbage sorted, the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau announced on Wednesday.

The city's capacity in wet trash recycling and dry waste incineration will be raised, with garbage sorting in more than 90 percent of subdistricts and towns across Shanghai up to standard, the bureau said as it outlined its targets for the year. 

"The target is to raise the sorted amount of wet, recyclable and hazardous trash, and control the volume of dry waste," said Qi Yumei, deputy director of the bureau’s sanitation management department. 

A total of 6,336 tons of recyclable waste were collected daily in November, up from October’s 5,960 tons. Another 9,006 tons of wet garbage were sorted daily in November compared with October’s 8,710 tons, the bureau said.

As a result, the goal of daily handling of dry garbage has been set at below 16,800 tons, it said. 

More than a ton of hazardous trash is expected to be sorted daily this year. In October, 0.62 tons of hazardous waste were sorted daily.

The trash-recycling rate is expected to exceed 35 percent this year.

The daily amount of wet trash sorted in Shanghai grew 88.8 percent last year compared with a year earlier, and there was a 17.5 percent drop in dry garbage collected.

Recyclable trash sorting surged 431.8 percent, and for hazardous waste by 504.1 percent.

"The performance exceeds our expectation," said Qi. "The city's garbage-sorting effect will be further lifted, and construction of garbage treatment terminal facilities will be beefed up this year.”

An extra 3,450-ton daily capacity in wet trash recycling and dry waste incineration is also on the agenda for the year, the bureau announced. The current capacity is 24,350 tons a day.

"The quality of 6,000 community-based recyclable trash collection spots across the city will be improved, which will involve space design and services," said Qi.

Over 70 percent of subdistricts and towns across Shanghai should have their sorting performance and effect rated excellent by the end of the year, according to the bureau.