De-cluttering campaign probes every nook and cranny
Blocked and cluttered passageways are a common site in the city’s residential complexes, especially older ones, but new ways are being found to address this old problem.
In Yichuan Sancun in Putuo District, residents are being encouraged to bring their unwanted belongings to a community flea market or simply give them away to other residents.
At one flea market on Saturday afternoon, Ji Guoqin, a 74-year-old resident who is also a community volunteer, was selling dozens of things ranging from books, toys, babies’ clothes to stationery along with other volunteers.
“I have lived here for almost 40 years, and my neighbors often store household items outside their apartments,” she said.
Ji said the flea market is part of efforts to persuade people to remove their junk from public spaces. According to the government, almost all of the buildings in the complex have been cleared up.
“Some people objected at the beginning, but as their neighbors changed their ways, they gave in,” Ji said.
The first things sold at the flea market, which is now held every three months, were unclaimed items. The money collected went to Putuo Red Cross Society.
Other things, such as tables, chairs, ladders and tools have become shared objects for all residents. They are kept in a public room for anyone to borrow with their ID card. Over 100 objects have been borrowed in the past year.
Residents can also exchange their odds and ends for useful things, for example, exchanging old bikes for bags of rice.
In the whole Yichuan subdistrict, 88 percent of its 1,300 residential buildings are now been free of clutter.
In many cases, residents park their e-bikes inside the buildings to charge them from home, but this has proven to be extremely dangerous as the bikes can catch fire when being charged, so property management firms have constructed more e-bike sheds.
Property management firm “Zhongshan” serves most of the old residential complexes in Putuo and has constructed 184 e-bike garages with surveillance cameras and smart charging devices since 2018, with 24 in Yichuan.
For residents who refused to clear up their mess, urban management teams and firefighters issued law enforcement notices for endangering fire safety. The urban management authority has handed down administrative punishment in nine such cases.