Beijing draft: Either sort trash or fork over cash

Beijing residents may face a fine of 200 yuan ($28) if they fail to sort domestic garbage, according to a draft regulation unveiled on Monday.

The regulation, proposed by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Management, will be submitted to the Beijing People’s Congress soon. The regulation will be open for public feedback until Nov 13.

The regulation specifies that departments and people who produce household waste should be responsible for classifying garbage as kitchen waste, recyclables, hazardous waste and other waste.

Some large pieces of garbage, such as discarded furniture or household appliances, should be delivered to specific places, the regulation said.

For the express delivery and e-commerce industry, the draft law also called for companies to issue more electronic bills and use more recyclable boxes.

Companies that developed their business in Beijing should provide different sizes of packaging bags and eco-friendly tape, the regulation added.

Beijing has carried out pilot trash sorting projects since early 1998, when the Dachengxiang community in Xicheng district became the first neighborhood to classify garbage. At the end of 2011, the city published China’s first domestic waste management regulation, which took effect on March 1, 2012.

In July, the capital’s urban management authorities said the city will push forward its waste sorting legislation soon, without giving a specific date.

According to local authorities, Beijing produces nearly 26,000 metric tons of domestic waste every day, and 29 garbage disposal facilities are already operating at full capacity.

In 2018, the capital collected 9.3 million tons of household waste.

Citizens in Beijing welcomed the upcoming trash sorting but also raised concerns for the mandatory rules.

Wang Qingli, a 57-year-old taxi driver living in the capital’s northwestern Shunyi district, said he looks forward to sorting trash.

“Especially during the winter, our family usually stores Chinese cabbage in bulk, resulting in lots of unused rotten leaves,” he said. “It’s better to throw them in a particular trash bin to prevent everything else going bad as well.”

As a family of three, Wang said, they usually throw away one bag of domestic garbage a day.

“Actually, I am willing to sort out the garbage voluntarily every day after work when I get home, but the mandatory fines may make me lose motivation,” he said.

“I hope there might be some bonus from the government to raise the enthusiasm of the public to sort trash, which might in return help implement the regulation,” he added.

Ni Chenyang, a 27-year-old resident near Chaoyang Park, agreed. Ni said he is worried about the garbage collectors’ living situations after the regulation takes effect.

“Currently many garbage collectors live in Beijing suburbs and collect trash to make a living, but when every citizen is familiar with trash sorting rules, they might need to find another way to make a living.”

In July, Shanghai enacted a municipal regulation covering domestic waste management requiring every household and institution to sort trash into four categories: recyclable waste, hazardous waste, household food waste and residual waste.

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