Shanghai experience

The success of Shanghai's trash sorting program has inspired many cities to follow suit.

In addition to Beijing, Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, have introduced similar compulsory domestic waste management regulations.

Last month, cities such as Nanjing, the Jiangsu provincial capital, and Jinan, capital of Shandong province, began seeking public opinion on their own regulations. By the end of this year, trash sorting will be implemented in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, Haikou, capital of Hainan province, and Sanya, the southernmost city in Hainan.

Zhou, the company founder, said she has received invitations from many other cities to carry out trash sorting. Her team is working with the authorities in Chang'an town, Haining, Zhejiang province, to launch such a program in 20 communities.

She said she was initially a little pessimistic, as other cities need a long time to build up administrative capacity and related infrastructure.

"But our seven pilot communities have made good progress in recent months," she said. "Maybe in the next 10 years, trash sorting can be successfully implemented across the country."

Zhang Yong, associate professor of environmental sciences at East China Normal University in Shanghai, has been following the city's trash sorting initiative for years. In recent months, he has reported on the experience in Shanghai to officials in cities nationwide.

"Some experts were not too optimistic when Shanghai introduced the regulation last year, because a similar initiative in 2012 was not successful. But this time, to the surprise of many, Shanghai has made it," Zhang said.

He added that the Shanghai authorities' political resolve, cooperation among the public and a constant emphasis on trash sorting in society have played vital roles.

"Shanghai has set a good example in making trash sorting key to evaluating its officials and pushing everyone to take action," Zhang said.

"There were many events and major tasks in Shanghai last year, but looking back, trash sorting probably left the greatest impression on the city's residents.

"It has entered all our lives, changed habits and brought more benefits than the completion of new roads or metro lines."