SHANGHAI, Jan. 31 -- Shanghai's municipal legislature on Thursday adopted a set of regulations on household garbage sorting and recycling, which will become effective on July 1.
In 2018, nearly 26,000 tonnes of house refuse needed to be disposed every day, with the total volume of household garbage surpassing 9 million tonnes.
"The growing demand of garbage disposal has imposed mounting pressure on Shanghai's sustainable development," Xiao Guiyu, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, told the lawmakers.
Shanghai will complete a sophisticated garbage disposal system including efforts in garbage sorting, collecting, transportation and recycling. Efforts will also be carried out in reducing the city's total volume of house refuse.
The regulations also specify the legal responsibilities of individuals and units concerned, who shall take the responsibilities of sorting garbage according to the categories of recyclable, hazardous, wet, and dry waste.
According to the regulations, units will face fines up to 500,000 yuan (nearly 75,000 U.S. dollars) for violating the waste disposal rules, and individual will be fined 50 to 200 yuan for illegal activities.
In order to reduce the total waste volume, the city will introduce more environmentally-friendly packing materials and promote economical packaging standards against over-packaging.
The regulations also encourage going paperless at work especially in Party and government offices, as well as public institutions. Disposable dishware and chopsticks will also be discouraged in restaurants and during catering services.
Business players who disobey the rules will face fines ranging from 500 yuan to 5,000 yuan, said Ding Wei, a lawmaker in Shanghai.
Over 40 Chinese cities have set up pilot zones to promote garbage sorting and recycling, said Zhang Zhao'an, vice president of Shanghai Academy of Social Science.
Shanghai will also carry out stronger supervision and punishment of illegal activities, said Mayor Ying Yong at a press conference Thursday.
"Everyone should be a part of the campaign of garbage sorting," Ying said.