Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

STARTING Nov. 1, incentive measures for garbage sorting will officially take effect to award outstanding garbage sorting practitioners, the Municipal Urban Administration and Law Enforcement Bureau said Thursday during a news conference.

Next, each district will be required to formulate its own detailed plan. The first selection period is from this Nov. 1 to Oct. 31 next year.

According to the measures, a total of 62.5 million yuan (US$9 million) will be reserved by 10 districts across the city as incentives for devoted residents, families, residential compounds, public institutions, enterprises, schools, supermarkets, social organizations, teachers and garbage sorting volunteers and supervisors.

“The purpose behind this move is to form a sound phenomenon in the city through which everyone regards garbage sorting as an honorable behavior,” said Yang Lei, vice head of the Municipal Urban Administration and Law Enforcement Bureau.

Selected residents and families can receive rewards of 1,000 yuan and 2,000 yuan, respectively. Outstanding residential compounds can receive a maximum of 300,000 yuan, with 100,000 yuan per 1,000 households.

Around 80 percent of the incentives are reserved for residential compounds, given that the property management companies and offices play an essential role in promoting these behaviors among individuals, according to Yang.

Yang mentioned Meilinyicun as an example. After several months of efforts, most residents at Meilinyicun can now classify kitchen waste before throwing it out between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. each day at designated locations.

The amount of sorted kitchen waste has increased from several hundreds kilograms to around two tons, according to staff with the Meilinyicun management office.

Garbage sorting practitioners can apply for the award through relevant subdistrict offices. Winners will finally be selected by each district.

At the same time, a regulation on garbage sorting has been submitted to the Standing Committee of the Municipal People’s Congress and is ready for the second round of deliberation, said the bureau.