The fixed location to throw sorted waste in Shanghai. Photo: IC

The Shanghai authority discovered 20 illegal garbage sorting cases and required 623 places to rectify on the first day of its strictest-ever regulation on garbage sorting.

On Monday, the Shanghai Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau dispatched 3,600 officers to inspect 4,216 places in the city, including residential communities, office buildings and shops, local media eastday.com reported. 

The bureau discovered 17 cases of failure to drop household waste based on the regulation and three others for failing to set correct trash cans, the report said.

People who fail to sort their trash may be liable for a fine of up to 200 yuan ($291), while firms and organizations can be fined up to 50,000 yuan, according to the newly implemented regulation. 

"A fine is never the purpose, but rather to educate, publicize and guide the public to classify garbage correctly," He Yujun, an urban corps senior staff member told the Shanghai Observer. 

The first ticket of rectification was issued to five-star hotel Swissotel Grand Shanghai in Jing'an district for a lack of recognizable signs on its bins and incorrect sorting, the urban management bureau said.

Inspection officers also gave the hotel a brochure on trash sorting, requiring the hotel to do so in accordance with the standards. 

A rectification ticket centers not on financial penalties but requires those who are incorrect to rectify the matter within three days, an anonymous urban management officer told the Global Times on Monday.

He said the new regulation is also linked to punishments for dishonesty. Personal credit will be affected if one fails and refuses to fulfill correct garbage sorting. 

Meanwhile, things appear to be going well at Shanghai residential communities. 

At a community in the Minhang district, a sink to wash hands was placed beside the trash dropping point, and trash cans for pet poop was also located in the green belt. 

Local media reported that the community has 135 volunteers. Young people work on weekends while the elderly and retired workers on weekdays.
Newspaper headline: Shanghai issues tickets to garbage-sorting violators