Waste SortingGets a Reboot

After years of failed efforts， Chinese authorities are now fully focused

on proper sorting， collection and disposal of household garbage

“Most people would just put their household waste in a plastic bag and throw it into a garbage can. After that， the waste is of no concern to them，” explained Wang Jiuliang， director of a documentary film entitled Beijing Besieged by Waste. What he described accurately captures the feelings of millions of China’s urban residents.

The Chinese government has advocated waste sorting for years but little progress has been made. In reaction to the lack of progress， in late March 2017， China’s National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly issued the Household Waste Sorting System Implementation Plan， requiring 46 cities to adopt a mandatory waste sorting system and achieve a recycling rate of over 35 percent by the end of 2020. With the plan released， local governments have introduced measures to evaluate the effectiveness of waste sorting policies. Thus， mandatory waste sorting is expected to be implemented over the next several years， and the problem of cities besieged by garbage is to be solved.

Nothing to Achieve

As early as 2000， eight cities in China， including Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Shenzhen， were designated household waste sorting pilot cities， kicking off a nationwide campaign promoting waste sorting. However， by the year 2017， little progress had been made. To a minor extent， awareness among Chinese citizens has improved， but substantial achievements have been minimal.

“The main problem was that we didn’t have clear-cut objectives and methods to achieve proper waste sorting，” said Xu Haiyun， chief engineer at the China Urban Construction Design Research Institute. He pointed out that under the previous system， waste sorting was carried out under two systems — a waste recycling system and a sanitation system — but they were not linked properly.

“I know how to properly sort garbage and have done so for several years，” explained one Beijing resident. “But even if we have sorted the waste， garbage collectors would just put it all back together when they came to collect it.”

In fact， many Chinese urban residents have had negative experiences relating to garbage sorting. Several citizens of major cities told China Report ASEAN that they are not familiar with scientific garbage-sorting standards but do some simple sorting themselves at home. And even as waste containers with signs indicating different categories have been placed in a vast majority of residential areas in Beijing， few people sort their garbage correctly， and most waste is mixed together in garbage cans.

China lacks a uniform standard for waste sorting. Currently there are two popular methods of separating household waste into three （recyclable， harmful and other） or four categories （recyclable， harmful， organic and other）. According to the implementation plan， local governments are allowed to determine elements included in recyclable and organic waste in line with local conditions， while specific items of harmful waste are mandatory.

“Waste sorting is not as easy as you might think，” said Wang Weiping， a chief engineer at the Beijing Municipal Commission of City Management. “It involves segregation at the household level and recycling and disposal in later stages.”

Failure in any of the steps disrupts the entire process.

From Encouragement to Mandatory Directive

Today， many cities in China are faced with the imminent threat of a siege by garbage. According to the China Association of Urban Environmental Sanitation， the country’s household waste output exceeds 150 million tons a year and that number is growing at an annual rate of 8 to 10 percent. Two-thirds of large and medium-sized Chinese cities are now surrounded by a huge ring of garbage and a quarter of them don’t have enough space for landfills.

According to a report on the social cost of municipal solid waste incineration in Beijing released by Renmin University of China on March 22， if waste sorting policies and source classification can be implemented， and separated disposal of kitchen waste and garbage-to-resource transformation can be achieved， the cost of domestic waste management in Beijing alone will drop from 4.22 billion yuan （US$626 million） in 2015 to 1.53 billion yuan （US$227 million）， a reduction of nearly 64 percent.

Challenged by the problem， it is a top priority of all parties to establish an explicit sorting standard and clarify responsibilities.

“Every step in the waste sorting process must be carried out coherently so that an effective and smooth system can be built，” said Liu Jianguo， a professor with Tsinghua University’s School of Environment. Citizens should shoulder the responsibility of garbage sorting at the household level， while the government is in charge of segregated collection， transport and disposal.

According to the implementation plan， by the end of 2017， 46 cities will be required to formulate specific measures regulating all aspects of household waste sorting， such as classification standards， categories， dumping， collection， delivery and disposal. Primary players in this nationwide campaign include Party and government organizations， public institutions， social organizations， public property administrations and enterprises.

Concrete Measures

Although urban residents are not subject to the mandatory directive， many cities are now exploring ways of incorporating citizens into their plans.

The Shenzhen model， for example， has attracted much attention since the municipal government of Shenzhen published a Guidebook for Household Waste Sorting on June 3， marking the city’s entry into the era of mandatory waste sorting.

Combining professional with manual sorting， the Shenzhen model adopts a strategy of garbage reduction at its source， early-stage sorting， middle-stage separation of dry and wet waste and later-stage comprehensive utilization. According to the guidebook， residential property management service providers or individuals who fail to abide by the regulations will be fined by government authorities.

As a Chinese super-city， Beijing has formulated a mandatory policy， launched pilot projects and provided guidance to promote waste segregation. Earlier this year， the municipal government stipulated that all public institutions and related enterprises should put garbage sorting into practice， advance waste reduction， promote separation of dry and wet waste by using large and small garbage cans and encourage local residents to participate.

In the Northern Huixin Residential Community located in Chaoyang District， designated a model community of household waste sorting in Beijing， a smart waste sorting service platform named “e-resources” has been put into trial operation.

“After registering， residents in the community receive a magnetic card and stickers with a platform QR code，” explained Sun Ying， a staff member with the Urban Microenvironment Company， a subsidiary of Beijing Environment Sanitation Engineering Group. “If users put a sticker on a garbage bag and drop it into the correct garbage can using the card， they can get membership points.” As an incentive method， these points can be exchanged for daily necessities.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period， the municipal government plans to complete six kitchen waste disposal projects and launch two new projects， aiming at realizing an increase of 1，500 tons of daily disposal capacity. In the next step， the capital will carry out pilot projects on a disciplinary system of “no sorting， no collection”.