Shanghai was the first Chinese city to add a regulation for waste management and recycling on Monday. People and companies must now separate their waste, placing them in specific bins for four different types of waste: recyclable, hazardous waste, kitchen waste and residual waste.

Residents had around 1-3 months to practice and get knowledgeable about what waste goes into which bin. Households were provided with four different trash bins a few months before, so to help people understand the purpose of recycling and get used to the idea of waste separation. 

The municipal government was praised for doing a good job in educating residents to start recycling – the number of people lining up to throw in their waste in the right bins can be seen increasing on a day to day basis. It has been described as becoming ‘an important daily ritual in the community.’ There were also a number of volunteers who helped people get used to sorting their waste. 

At the trash station, the authorities placed wash basins next to the bins, for bin users who may want to wash their hands after emptying their kitchen waste and residual waste, which may get damped. Residential neighbourhoods were the best performing in trash sorting and efficiency. 

The Shanghai Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau did surprise checks and inspections to 4,200 venues to see if residents were following orders and doing a good job. Almost 15% of the venues were given warnings, with the next violation resulting in fines ranging from 5,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan. Only 7% of the neighbourhoods inspected were given warnings.