ON the balcony of Ling Lina’s home, a box of used batteries and bulbs, a box of expired medicines, a pile of waste paper cartons and rows of empty beverage bottles can be seen arranged by type.

Ling, a volunteer in Xin’an Subdistrict, has been practicing garbage classification with her family for years, the Bao’an Daily reported yesterday.

Ling’s family joined the volunteer group in Xin’an Subdistrict in 2015. “At the beginning, my husband and I were trying to help my son develop the habit of volunteering and serving the community. Later, the whole family became active members of the volunteer group and we gladly joined the promotion of domestic waste classification,” Ling was quoted as saying.

“Ling’s family was one of the most active families when the district’s urban management bureau and Lyubaobao carried out the first domestic waste classification event in Chuangyeyicun housing complex in 2006,” Zhou Peiling, a staffer with Lyubaobao, a nonprofit organization specializing in waste sorting and reduction, told the Daily.

In Ling’s kitchen, there is a small bucket beside the sink, which is used to collect vegetable leaves, bones and other organic waste, and a bucket on the floor to collect dry garbage. Additionally, there are used newspapers and magazines stacked neatly on a cabinet for other uses.

Ling has also participated in a number of charity activities and performances to promote garbage classification in communities.

Ling’s husband added that he has been actively recycling garbage from a young age. At that time, he would store his father’s cigarette boxes and sell a bag of them when he had enough.

In 2018, Ling’s family was honored for their efforts in domestic waste classification in an activity hosted by the district’s urban management bureau. (Zhang Yu)