Learning · Story丨"New Fashion" in the Eyes of General Secretary Wu Qingbao | Garbage Classification |丨
As the lights came on, at the domestic waste disposal point in Ruihong New City Phase II, Jiaxing Road Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai, Wu Qingbao, a community waste sorting volunteer in his 70s, scanned the QR code with his mobile phone and put the cardboard box into the recyclables opening of the smart garbage compartment.
"Now I don't have to stand guard next to the trash cans. Residents are able to voluntarily sort their trash, and the corridors are much cleaner," said Wu Qingbao.
Just one year ago, a special reply letter inspired garbage sorting volunteers like Wu Qingbao.
"I recall the scene when I discussed garbage classification with you five years ago. I am deeply impressed by your enthusiasm for public welfare and serving the people," General Secretary Xi Jinping said in his reply.
"Waste classification and resource utilization is a systematic project. It requires coordinated efforts, precise policies and long-term efforts from all parties. It also requires the active participation and proactive actions of urban and rural residents." In addition to affirming the achievements made in waste classification, General Secretary Xi Jinping expressed his earnest expectations.
From November 6 to 7, 2018, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited Shanghai. This is a photo of Xi Jinping talking cordially with several young people who were discussing how to promote garbage sorting in the community at the first branch of the Jiaxing Road Sub-station of the Hongkou District Citizen Station on the morning of the 6th. Photo by reporter Li Tao
On November 6, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping, who was inspecting in Shanghai, came to the first branch of the Jiaxing Road Sub-station of the Hongkou District Citizen Station. In the Party Building Work Station, several young people from the neighborhood committee and enterprises were discussing the methods of promoting community waste sorting. A young man told the General Secretary that participating in charity activities is a new fashion for young people.
Eight months later, on July 1, 2019, the Shanghai Municipal Regulations on the Management of Domestic Waste came into effect.
In 2023, all domestic waste in Shanghai has been harmlessly treated, and consciously sorting waste has become a habit for more and more citizens. The volunteers wrote a letter to report their hard-won achievements to the General Secretary, expressing their determination to contribute to promoting waste sorting on a larger scale.
Today, inspired and encouraged by the General Secretary’s reply, “recycled” benches for residents to rest, plant fertilizers in community gardens, and points redemption for smart recycling... environmentally friendly ideas are springing up like mushrooms after rain in residential areas across Shanghai.
Residents of Hongxu Community in Changning District, Shanghai are tidying up and renovating the community garden. Residents mix the "green materials" fermented in the compost bin with soil and spread them in the planting box.
Low-carbon living space in Ruihong Phase II Community, Jiaxing Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai. Photo by Xing Qianli, a reporter from Wenhui Daily
From the initial "throwing into one basket" to today's "dividing into four buckets", from the past "reducing waste at the source" to the current "turning waste into treasure", as the garbage sorting work is deepened, the efforts made by volunteers like Wu Qingbao are being echoed across the country.
