Garbage Sorting

After Shanghai started its compulsory garbage sorting system in July 2019, Beijing announced it would follow suit on May 1, 2020. According to data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development, at least 237 cities across the country already practice garbage sorting. In 46 major cities, household garbage classification covers more than 77,000 housing communities and 49 million households, and 30 cities have issued laws or regulations on the disposal of household garbage. Unified laws, regulations and standard systems of garbage sorting are expected to be established by late 2020, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. Industry insiders argued that it is also urgent for the country to strengthen its disposal capabilities after the mountains of sorted garbage are collected.