11. Shanghai is the first city to carry out strict regulations (规章) on rubbish sorting and recycling on July 1, 2019. Shanghai requires its residents (居民) to sort rubbish (1) four categories (类别), namely recyclable, (2) , dry and wet waste. If people (3) to sort their rubbish properly, they can be fined up to 200 yuan.
Since the regulation took effect, the amount of total daily waste in Shanghai has been reduced by an average (平均) of 15,500 tons, dropping 26 percent from the end of 2018, (4) the average daily weight of recyclables hits 4,500 tons, five times higher than the end of 2018, according to the Shanghai Landscaping and City Appearance Administrative Bureau.
The city also (5) 21,000 waste-sorting stations and more than 40,000 waste bins have been dated (更新). The city's waste collection and transportation system is complete, according to the bureau.
"Proper waste sorting protects the environment and saves natural resources," said Deng Jianping, director of the bureau. "Led by the central government, Shanghai is making efforts to develop long-term (6) to rubbish management."
However, there have also been some problems. Some people complained that it is difficult to (7) wet garbage, as they are asked to remove wet garbage from its bag when (8) .
According to the sorting rules, the wet garbage must go in the wet waste bin and the bag must go in the dry waste bin.
This separation is (9) , as it ensures that the wet garbage will decompose (分解) properly and become useful organic (有机的) waste, the bureau said.
Plastic bags can affect this process. Some people in Shanghai are instead using paper bags that can biodegrade (生物降解) or plastic containers (容器) that can be (10) and reused according to Xinhua.