Careless garbage dumping could soon cost Beijing residents dearly

BEIJING - Residents in Beijing would now have to think twice before dumping their garbage at an improper spot around residential areas as they might end up paying up to 200 Yuan (30 dollar) if they fails to follow the guidelines of an upcoming household waste classification system.

According to China Daily, Beijing would soon introduce a household waste classification system, with separate bins for recyclable wastes, kitchen wastes and other wastes, in residential areas.

In order to encourage garbage classification in the city, the Legal Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal Government has published a draft regulation seeking advice and suggestions from the public before December 17.

Zhou Jidong, director of the office, said that the move aims to bring about a prompt awareness among people about garbage separation.

According to the draft, everyone in the city should pay a waste disposal fee for the waste they produce. It also says that any unit that puts waste into the wrong bin will face a fine from 5,000 Yuan to 50,000 Yuan, while an individual would be fined from 20 Yuan to 200 Yuan.

China reportedly loses 20 billion Yuan each year because of the lack of a recycling system to reuse urban trash, according to a report released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in May.

The paper quoted a report by the Beijing-based China Science Center of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, as saying that China produces over 152 million tons of garbage every year, which has been increasing by 8 to 10 percent annually in recent years.

However, the city’s non-recyclable rubbish bins are still filled with paper and fruit peels, while food leftovers are dumped into the recyclable bins.

“I don’t think people are unwilling to sort their garbage, they are just puzzled about what trash can be recycled and what can’t be,” an inhabitant of Beijing said.

Beijing is now planning to involve 300 community rubbish-recycling stations in a “Renewable Resource Recycling Day” this year, to encourage people to recycle rubbish near their homes. (ANI)