City legislators to scrutinize waste management

Shanghai’s legislature launched an inspection on the implementation of the law on solid waste management on Friday.

It will focus on household, medical, industrial and construction waste management and the design, manufacturing and recycling of packaging for e-commerce and delivery businesses.

Solid waste management in agriculture and the management of hazardous waste will also be under scrutiny.

Government departments reported the city’s progress in enhancing solid waste management in recent years to legislators on Friday.

The city handled about 14,000 tons of dry garbage per day last year, a 20 percent drop from the previous year, while the daily amount of wet waste and recyclable waste was about 9,500 tons and 6,400 tons, a 28 percent and 58 percent rise respectively from the previous year, according to the government.

City residents now correctly sort their garbage in over 95 percent of cases, government said.

In an effort to reduce waste from the delivery industry, electronic waybills have been in used in 99 percent of deliveries. On a yearly base, this equals to a saving of 1.2 billion A4 paper sheets or 135,000 trees. Also, 98 percent of packages are sealed with tapes less than 4.5 centimeters wide and other packaging material has been significantly reduced.

Inspections following the ban on plastic bags and straws revealed 21 violations so far this year by supermarkets and catering businesses, the government said.

The city can handle up to 365 tons of medical waste a day, while the current daily amount of such waste is 220 tons, according to the government.

Meanwhile, over 4,000 companies in the automobile service industry have been included in a system that ensures safe handling of dangerous waste such as lead-acid batteries and mineral oil. About 24,000 tons of lead-acid batteries were collected through the system last year, a 150 percent rise from the previous year, the government said.

The inspections will be ongoing until August, and the results discussed at a session of the standing committee of Shanghai People’s Congress, the city’s legislature, in November.