Garbage times 'should be extended'

Residential complexes in Shanghai should extend garbage disposal times and establish spots for people who miss those times, a senior official with the city's greenery authorities said on Tuesday.

A large number of complexes have begun trials of "designated time, designated place" methods of garbage sorting, which are being promoted citywide.

The times are usually two hours in the morning and afternoon, said Deng Jianping, director of Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.

"The real operation of the trial since July 1 has proved that the duration is too short," said Deng.

"Residential communities are advised to make the duration from 6am to 9am, and from 4:30pm to 9pm, for example, which will make it convenient for residents to dispose of trash," he said. "Discussions should be conducted based on the real situation of residential complexes, and the time can be prolonged properly."

He also suggested temporary disposal spots for those not able to meet the fixed times.

"I often work overtime and when I return home after 8pm, the disposal spot has already closed," said Chen Lina, a resident in Putuo District. "If the opening time is extended to 9pm, it is much better."

"I leave home around 8:45am, but the spot is closed at 8am," sai Liu Hongyu, a Songjiang District resident. "If it closes at 9am, I can bring garbage and drop it on the way to work, which is much more convenient."

Since July 1 when Shanghai's new household garbage-sorting management regulations came into force, 4,400 tons of recyclable trash a day has been collected, 20 times more than in 2017, and is around 10 percent more than in June, according to the bureau.

Some 8,200 tons of wet waste is now sorted in the city each day, a rise of 130 percent from 2017, a 15 percent increase from June and an increase of 82 percent from the end of last year, the bureau said.

Although progress has been made, there are still some problems, said Deng.

Compared with residential complexes, the promotion of household garbage sorting at enterprises is slow, and more meticulous management is needed at garbage disposal spots at residential complexes, he said.

In addition, the construction of terminal utilization facilities should be accelerated, said Deng.

The promotion of garbage sorting among the mobile population and domestic helpers will be strengthened with property go-between and domestic helper industry associations involved, and the teams of waste-sorting volunteers and supervisors will be expanded, said Deng.

Shanghai authorities have renovated 17,000 disposal spots for sorting, and updated the signage of about 40,000 street garbage bins so far.

The city has 1,088 vehicles to transport wet trash, 3,197 for dry garbage, 80 for hazardous trash, and 154 for recyclable, according to the bureau.

There are 8,778 collection service stations for recyclable trash, it added.