Fines for not sorting out garbage

Individuals who don't sort out their garbage under related rules will be fined up to 200 yuan (US$32.70) in Shanghai, according to a draft regulation which aims to cut waste to create a greener city.

The regulation is being drafted after the success of a pilot garbage sorting project which has covered 1.65 million families and 2,000 companies and public places as of this July since it was carried out from 2010.

Under the draft regulation, domestic garbage will be divided into four categories — recyclable garbage, harmful garbage, wet garbage and dry garbage — at residential communities. Each community must be equipped with four respective kinds of garbage cans.

Each non-residential building should also have three kinds of garbage cans for recyclable garbage, harmful garbage and other garbage including both dry and wet garbage. Public places should be equipped with two kinds of garbage cans for recyclable garbage and other garbage, the draft said.

Companies and individuals must categorize waste before dumping it into garbage cans, or they will face fines. For individuals the fine is between 50 yuan and 200 yuan while for companies, it ranges from 200 yuan to 1,000 yuan.

The draft also introduces a liability system in which designated teams will guide people to sort out waste, manage the transport of sorted waste and supervise garbage sorting. They can also hire sorters to help sort dumped garbage that fails to meet the requirement.

People or companies who are liable for garbage sorting will face a fine of between 1,000 yuan and 3,000 yuan if they mix the sorted garbage during transport, according to the draft.

A legislative hearing of the draft regulation will be held next month. Residents can apply to attend the hearing by downloading an application form from www.shanghai.gov.cn and sending it to fzbcjc@shanghai.gov.cn before next Friday, said the city's legislative affairs office.

Shanghai aims to trim domestic waste per capita by 5 percent every year and plans to achieve a cut of 50 percent by 2020 from that in 2010.