Shanghai steps up trash-sorting crackdown to secure progress
Officials conduct a trash sorting inspection in Shanghai's downtown Changning District on Wednesday.
Shanghai's trash sorting campaign has witnessed remarkable progress, and urban management and law enforcement authorities will step up patrols and inspections at supermarkets, wet markets, transportation hubs, tourist attractions and railway stations to further regulate violations related to garbage classification, officials announced on Wednesday.
The beefed-up crackdown follows the resurgence of garbage sorting problems at some supermarkets, wet markets and transportation hubs in the city and the unsatisfactory sorting quality of recyclable and dry garbage at some tourist attractions and railway stations, according to the Shanghai Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau.
"We found that after nearly four years, the trash sorting awareness among the public has improved significantly but a few problems still exist based on our inspections in the first half of this year," said Fang Xiaodong, deputy chief of the bureau's law enforcement team.
"Mixed disposal of dry and wet trash by individuals was found and some work units failed to set up disposal containers based on regulations," he pointed out.
"We will continue with law enforcement and promotion of these problems in the next phase."
Officials make a check of dust bins.
The city's urban management and law enforcement officials conducted a snap inspection at shopping malls and residential complexes on Wednesday.
Shanghai's garbage classification regulations went into effect on July 1, 2019, toward the goal of a low-carbon lifestyle.
Overall, the trash-sorting performance of over 95 percent of work units and residential complexes in the city is up to standard, the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau noted.
In the first four months of this year, 8,533 tons of wet garbage was separated daily on average in the city, compared with 6,950 tons in June 2019, before the regulations went into effect.
As a result, 16,648 tons of dry trash was collected daily between January and April, down from 19,370 tons in June 2019.
