Waste sorting debate throws out the pros and cons of new regulation

Residents and white-collar workers in Jing'an District's Meiliyuan community engaged in a lively debate over garbage sorting this morning.

The event is part of local efforts to let everyone know about garbage sorting before the city’s first-ever domestic garbage management regulation takes effect in July. Grassroots voices and suggestions can offer some reference to the city’s lawmakers as to further improve the regulations.

One side argued that it’s hard to make everyone sort out their garbage.

Local resident Guan Rongchun said that unlike Japan, where garbage sorting has become part of life, Shanghai residents have to change their habits, which is hard.

Zhang Nan, from a local design company, said many of her friends had complained to her that they throw different garbage into different litter bins, but cleaners just put them together by the time it reaches the garbage trucks.

“For us white-collar workers, we are used to just throwing our takeaway lunch boxes, with food waste, together into the litter bin," she added. "But now we have to sort it out first, and even 10 seconds is precious for us."

The other side argued it’s not a big deal.

“Authorities have taken great effort to educate us about how to sort out garbage and now we have different litter bins in our neighborhoods” said resident Xu Zhengfang. 

Figures show Shanghai processed nearly 260,000 tons of household garbage each day in 2018.