Home-spun solution to wet waste
Wet waste is sorted in the residential complex's garbage room, which has been fitted with a food waste disposal machine.
About two-thirds of household waste in a residential complex in Jing’an District is being processed on site, cutting the costs of transporting it elsewhere.
A food waste disposal machine was installed at the Beifang Jiayuan residential complex on January 5. Since then, residents have dumped about 200 kilograms of waste a day, with about 125 kilograms of wet waste processed at the scene.
Huang Ruiyin, 69, was among the first residents to try the new system.
“Previously, we dumped waste at our will. But now we would sort out the waste and throw the wet waste into the machine to be processed,” she said.
Residents are given points for sorting their garbage.
A mobile phone application is linked to a weighing scale in the complex's garbage room. Residents weigh waste that has been sorted, and the app works out how many points they have earned. Points can be redeemed for commodities such as washing powder.
Zhu Yueming, from the Zhijiang Road W. Subdistrict, said the machine was part of a micro-renovation campaign to improve the local environment through small changes.
“At first we just wanted to improve the environment, but later we thought it would be greater to raise awareness of garbage sorting,” he said.
“Previously, the garbage room was filled with garbage, emitting a strong smell and attracting flies. Residents often complained about it. So, when we sought opinions from residents about the micro-renovation program, more than 90 percent of them named the garbage room,” said Zhou Rong, Party secretary of the Sanxing neighborhood which administers the complex.
After sorting the waste, residents can weigh it on scale linked to a mobile phone application. They are given points that can be redeemed for household commodities.
