A year after the implementation of compulsory garbage sorting in Beijing, the household waste of China's capital city has been reduced significantly. However, residents and communities living in this metropolis are still trying to acclimatize to the new recycling system.

In the first four months of 2021, average daily volume of household garbage in Beijing was 20,600 tons, a decrease of 25.6 percent from 2019, with a daily reduction of more than 7,100 tons. The participation of Beijing's residents in waste sorting reaches 90 percent.

However, the biggest challenge in implementing waste classification is getting residents to develop the habit and fully participate. More specific measures should strengthen people's awareness and spur them on to take the initiative.

Meanwhile, there is still great potential to reduce waste from being produced, like decreasing food waste, the use of take-out lunch boxes and general packaging.

In the future, both government and community units will look to further improve services to better respond to citizen complaints regarding waste removal and transportation, daily maintenance of garbage stations, and the random stacking of large and construction waste.

This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Economic Daily on May 25 

(Print Edition Title: Garbage Sorting)