Under a new trash-collection scheme in the capital residents
will soon be paying for what they throw out, as part of efforts to
make the city more environment friendly.
A trial scheme will start next year and will involve a few
communities, the Beijing municipal administration commission (BMAC)
said.
People taking part in the trial will be required to pay fixed
prices for a set amount of garbage they put out. They will pay more
if they throw out additional trash.
Details of the new system are still under discussion.
Currently, local and migrant households in Beijing are charged
fixed monthly garbage fees of 3 yuan and 2 yuan, respectively.
Families that produce little waste pay as much as those who always
fill, or overflow, the trash can.
BMAC deputy director Chen Ling said in a recent interview that
his agency will assist the National Reform and Development
Commission (NDRC) and other relevant departments to draft standards
for specific charges before the Olympics next August.
A source with the BMAC's city appearance and environmental
sanitation division added that local property management companies
should be put in charge of these operations.
The BMAC also plans to set up renewable resource recycling spots
in the pilot communities to reduce waste generation.
The goal of the pay-as-you-throw system is to encourage trash
sorting and recycling, and "residents' garbage fees are not
expected to vary much under it", Chen said.
Beijing is home to 17 garbage disposal facilities, capable of
disposing only 10,350 tons of the 16,000 tons of waste generated
each day, the BMAC estimated.
While eight such facilities were recently shut down, the total
daily trash is expected to rise to 18,000 tons within three
years.
To deal with this, the city will construct and renovate 15 waste
disposal plants in the next two to three years.
Chen said Beijing will also stop burying its garbage.
The city currently buries or stockpiles 90 percent of its total
waste, which takes up massive areas of farmland and severely
pollutes their surroundings with foul odors and the like, he
said.
(China Daily November 29, 2007)