Forming New Fashion and Cultivating Good Habits - Shanghai's Long term Efforts to Focus on the "Key Small Matters" of Garbage Classification in Jiaxing Road Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai | Garbage Classification | Shanghai

While acknowledging the achievements of garbage classification, we also have high expectations for this work.

Shanghai is one of the earliest cities in China to comprehensively carry out garbage classification. In January 2019, the Shanghai Municipal Regulations on the Management of Domestic Waste were passed by the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and officially came into effect on July 1st of that year.

From "one basket" to "four buckets", detailed classification brings new results

"I am very pleased to learn that after several years of publicity and promotion, garbage classification has achieved new results in you, the level of civilization of residents has improved, and the community environment has become more beautiful." In reply, General Secretary Xi Jinping wrote.

On the morning of June 1st at 8 o'clock, in the Ruihong New City Phase I community of Jiaxing Road Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai, many working residents carried briefcases in one hand and two garbage bags in the other - a bag of dry garbage and a bag of wet garbage - to the fixed garbage bin room in the community. They skillfully threw dry garbage into the black bin, poured wet garbage into the brown bin, and threw the bag containing wet garbage into the nearby dry garbage bin.

On May 23rd, in the Aijia Haoting community of Jiaxing Road Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai, garbage sorting volunteers provided services during the delivery period. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying

"I sorted the garbage at home before going out," said Tian Xiaoqian, a resident of the community.

Hua Lei, Secretary of the Party General Branch of Ruihong First Residential Area in Jiaxing Road Street, said, "At first, everyone was not clear about what dry garbage and wet garbage are. But after persisting for a few years, the community has continuously achieved new results in promoting garbage classification, and the participation of the people is increasing."

On May 23rd, in the Aijia Haoting community of Jiaxing Road Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai, garbage sorting volunteers checked the situation of garbage sorting and disposal. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying

For residents, the most intuitive change in implementing household waste classification is the improvement of environmental hygiene in the community. Wu Qingbao, a community garbage sorting volunteer who is nearly seventy years old, told reporters that there were garbage bins on each floor of the community. "Convenience is convenient, but the smell is particularly strong when it is hot, and there are many mosquitoes.". The implementation of "removing buckets and counting them, and timing their disposal" initially made it difficult for everyone to adapt, but over the years, after developing the habit, residents were able to voluntarily sort and dispose of garbage, and the corridors became much more refreshing.

In the past four years, focusing on "key small matters" has not been relaxed, and garbage classification has brought tangible changes to the appearance and ecological environment of Shanghai communities:

——The effectiveness of household waste classification in Shanghai has remained stable, with the amount of wet waste being basically stable at around 35% of the total dry and wet waste, and the daily average amount of recyclable materials reaching 7284 tons.

——The compliance rate of residential area classification has increased from 15% before the implementation of the Shanghai Municipal Regulations on the Management of Domestic Waste to over 95% at present, and the compliance rate of unit classification has reached 95%. Most residents have developed a conscious habit of classification.

——The capacity for resource utilization and treatment of household waste has steadily improved. At present, Shanghai has built 15 incineration plants and 10 centralized wet waste treatment facilities. The total capacity of domestic waste incineration and wet waste resource utilization in the city exceeds 36000 tons/day, and the recycling and utilization rate of domestic waste has reached 42%, achieving zero landfill of original domestic waste.

From "prescribed work" to "conscious action", garbage classification promotes the formation of a joint force in grassroots governance

"I hope you will continue to play the unique role of volunteers in grassroots governance, do a good job of propaganda and guidance with heart and emotion, and drive more residents to develop the good habit of classified delivery." In the reply, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward ardent expectations.

On May 23rd, at the Citizen Station in Jiaxing Road Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai, garbage sorting volunteers were exchanging work experience. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying

The habit of garbage sorting is important in persistence and cultivation. Especially for mega cities like Shanghai with a permanent population of over 24 million, garbage classification cannot be achieved without public participation and nationwide action.

Mass participation, using "embroidery skills" to promote the deepening and implementation of garbage classification. In the Hongxu residential area of Changning District, Shanghai, residents are mixing the "green materials" fermented in compost boxes with soil and laying them in planting boxes.

Residents of Hongxu Community in Changning District, Shanghai are organizing and renovating their community gardens. Residents mix the fermented "green materials" from the compost box with soil and lay them in the planting box. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Jiansong

Wu Hongping, Secretary of the Party Branch of Hongxu Residential Area, said that the wet garbage, which used to have a strong and unpleasant taste, has become a hot commodity for flower and grass growers after being sorted and fermented. The secret lies in fine processing.

Kitchen waste with oily water is not suitable for composting. Hongxu residential area further subdivides wet waste into pre meal waste and post meal waste; There are various types of recyclable materials, and mixed disposal is actually not conducive to recycling. Some communities have expanded one recycling bucket to five buckets, and categorized glass, metal, plastic, paper, and clothing for disposal

From the initial "four classifications" to trying "six classifications" and "eight classifications", from distinguishing "what kind of garbage is this" to thinking about "how else garbage can be classified", many of these new changes and paths in Shanghai's garbage classification were conceived and tried out by residents from their "words and phrases".

Mass participation helps to find solutions to many difficult and complicated problems. The relevant person in charge of the Shanghai Municipal Greening and Urban Appearance Management Bureau stated that there are still problems in Shanghai, such as the need to strengthen the source management of garbage classification, improve the level of resource utilization, and break through the problem of source reduction.

The residential area of Lane 570, Yangqu Road, Linfen Road Street, Jing'an District, Shanghai has a large area, a large number of residents, and many tenants, with very different daily routines. If we insist on a fixed placement time of morning and night, and the garbage bin room is locked outside the placement period, it will bring inconvenience to the people living here.

"We found through our research that residents in the community have a high enthusiasm for participating in garbage classification and have the objective conditions to extend the opening time of garbage bins. After multiple negotiations, it has been decided to implement a 24-hour opening, while the neighborhood committee and property management company will strengthen management." Yan Lei, Secretary of the Party General Branch of the residential area in Lane 570 of Yangqu Road, said, "Garbage classification has become one of the important issues in the community, and it is inevitable to have a lot of discussions. However, in the debate, everyone has found the most suitable classification plan for their own community."

In Yutai Jingyuan Community, Jiaxing Road Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai, community garbage classification instructors assist residents in garbage classification and disposal. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fang Zhe

Mass participation and accelerating the formation of joint governance and sharing at the grassroots level. The large volunteer team has made the concept of garbage classification more deeply rooted in people's hearts: in the Ronghua residential area of Changning District, volunteers from Spain, Japan, and South Korea have translated garbage classification brochures into foreign languages and distributed them to foreign residents; In Hongkou District, Shanghai's first "garbage classification office" was established, aiming to play the role of a bridge and link for social organizations to participate in social governance

Statistics show that Shanghai recruits over 710000 volunteers for garbage sorting, with an average of 1 out of 9 registered volunteers participating in garbage sorting volunteer services.

In the Hongchu residential area of Changning District, when garbage classification began to be implemented, elderly residents were always struggling. A group of white-collar workers came forward to help the elderly learn the "four classifications". Some white-collar workers cannot catch up with the delivery time, and elderly residents will also bring help to dispose of garbage.

"White collar workers teach white hair, and white hair helps white collar workers," said Zhi Ying, the Secretary of the Party General Branch of Hongchu Residential Area. "Nowadays, the community can discuss something that can not only mobilize old residents but also attract new residents. Garbage classification promotes grassroots autonomy and forms a joint force."

From "reducing at the source" to "turning waste into treasure", a new picture of ecological civilization has been created through long-term efforts

In addition to anaerobic fermentation of wet garbage to produce biogas for power generation, there is also a small area dedicated to intensive breeding of black water flies in the "Bioenergy Reuse Center" at the Old Port Base of Shanghai Chengtou.

"These small insects eat wet garbage, have a big appetite, grow quickly, and have a high resource conversion rate. Insects themselves are high-quality protein, making them very popular for feed. Insect manure is not wasted, and can be used as organic fertilizer." Ma Cong, director of the Planning and Construction Center of Shanghai Chengtou Old Port Base, led reporters as they walked, "Through this treatment method, we not only ecologically dispose of wet garbage, but also turn waste into treasure, making it generate higher value."

Garbage classification is not a small matter, it is related to the overall pattern of ecological civilization construction.

The new fashion of garbage classification cannot be separated from the support of technological innovation. In the past four years, the facilities for garbage classification and disposal have been continuously optimized. Many streets and towns in Shanghai are promoting the intelligent transformation of garbage bin houses, installing intelligent sensing cameras and voice reminder systems for classification and placement points in their jurisdiction. Liu Jun, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Jiaxing Road Sub district in Hongkou District, told reporters that through remote supervision, real-time intercom, voice reminders and other functions, relevant departments can check the situation of garbage disposal in the community in real time, achieving timely detection and rectification.

In addition to front-end deployment, back-end disposal also has the assistance of technological innovation. "From digging a pit to burying it, to now classifying and disposing of it, green and innovative have become the keywords of waste disposal." Wu Yuefeng, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Chengtou Laogang Base Management Co., Ltd., said, "We are exploring the energy, feed, and fertilizer utilization of wet waste, and the resource utilization rate is further improved."

On May 23rd, in the Aijia Haoting community of Jiaxing Road Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai, garbage sorting volunteers demonstrated the use of garbage sorting intelligent recycling machines. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying

The new fashion of garbage classification also relies on the guidance of institutional innovation. On the streets of Shanghai, some seemingly ordinary leisure benches may have a great origin. Recently, two "recycled" benches have been added to the Gaojing Village community in Baoshan District, Shanghai. These benches are made from recyclable materials such as discarded clothes and plastic bottles delivered by residents to intelligent recycling machines. At the event of adding "recycled" benches in the community, there are also environmentally friendly bags made of plastic waste and T-shirts made of coffee grounds, showcasing more possibilities for garbage recycling.

"By investing in recycled materials, one can earn personal account points. I donated some of the points to the community's public account for the purchase of public facilities," said Aunt Ji, a nearby community resident. "We actively participate in waste recycling and have a great sense of achievement."

There is a large amount of energy with small points, and a fine coordination of a network. Gathering over 200 streets and towns, more than 5000 cleaning vehicles, and 25 centralized disposal facilities in the city... On the Shanghai Municipal Solid Waste Classification Information Platform, the city's solid waste classification, collection, and disposal have achieved "one network unified management", and "technology+management" has made the city cleaner and tidier.

Properly classifying garbage is related to the living environment of the general public, the conservation and utilization of resources, and is an important reflection of the level of social civilization. Deng Jianping, Director of the Shanghai Municipal Greening and Urban Appearance Management Bureau, stated that Shanghai will strengthen the construction of garbage classification hardware and improve management level, further improve the effectiveness of source classification, and continuously demonstrate a new image of urban ecological civilization.