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Beijing struggling to contain its growing garbage problem

About 40 per cent of the city’s domestic waste is poured into landfill sites, but these are considered bad for the environment and create odour problems

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Beijing residents created 902 tonnes of domestic garbage last year and the figure is set to increase by 10 per cent annually. Photo: Tom Wang
Zhuang Pinghuiin Beijing

For the past 10 years, Wang Lili has sorted rubbish from her home in Beijing’s downtown Xicheng district into recyclable and non-recyclable before taking them to a collection point in her residential complex.

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A cleaner then sifts through it again to separate it into kitchen waste, recyclables and other items before sending it on for further processing.

Wang, 71, lives in one of the first parts of the Chinese capital to pilot garbage classification. As a result, she has grown to resent overpackaging and has been teaching her six-year-old grandson to sort out garbage.

“It’s not very complicated and a six-year-old boy can do it,” she said.

Beijing residents created just over 9 million tonnes of domestic garbage last year and the figure has been steadily rising.

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