Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

AS one of the pilot cities in the country selected to promote garbage sorting, Shenzhen has not only strengthened measures to require residents to throw away their household garbage accordingly, but is also focused on developing a scientific waste disposal system.

A dozen journalists from major local media outlets were invited yesterday by Nanshan District Urban Administration and Law Enforcement Bureau to get a better idea of how sorted garbage is disposed of in the district.

At an ecological waste disposal park near Tanglang Mountain, staffers were seen busily handling different types of trash, such as decorative plants from Chinese New Year, glass, metal, plastics and paper, as well as hazardous trash like used batteries and fluorescent tubes.

The park is said to be China’s first integrated ecological park to be turned into a disposal base. At present, a total of six types of trash, namely decorative plants from Chinese New Year, worn-out furniture, glass, metal, plastic and paper waste, fruit and vegetable waste, kitchen waste, hazardous used batteries and fluorescent tubes are handled at the park.

“In the future, we will make the park facilities more advanced, in hopes of providing a model for other districts,” said an official with the district urban administration bureau.

Other waste in Nanshan is sent to Mawan Power Plant for disposal, where the trash is stored for fermentation before being sent to incinerators for power generation.

A staffer from the plant told the reporters that nearly 800 tons of trash is sent to the plant each day.

Shenzhen has established a distribution system that covers the entire city, sending different types of garbage to different disposal sites. Nearly 2,700 tons of trash is collected every day.

Nearly 6,400 tons of garbage is recycled each day, achieving a recycling rate of 27 percent.

Shenzhen is ramping up efforts to pool wisdom from both ordinary residents and experts to form practical strategies for improving the recycling rate as well as the participation of residents in garbage sorting.

The city expects to raise the recycling rate to over 35 percent and the resident participation rate to over 80 percent by 2020.

Garbage sorting has become a hot issue around the country, especially since Shanghai began implementing a mandatory regulation July 1.

In June, the Chinese leadership underlined efforts to cultivate good habits in garbage classification to improve the living environment and contribute to green and sustainable development.