A woman uses the smart garbage classification facility in a residential community in Xianghe county, North China's Hebei Province on Tuesday. China has been stepping up efforts to build a national garbage sorting system in recent years. Photo: Xinhua

Beijing is mulling a regulation on garbage sorting, which requires not only companies and institutions but also residents to conduct waste collection, an official said on Tuesday.

The capital city issued a regulation in 2012 on managing garbage, which detailed the responsibilities of and penalties on companies and institutions, it did not restrict individuals, Sun Xinjun, director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Management, said in an interview, Beijing Daily reported on Wednesday.

An amendment to the regulation has now been included in the 2018-20 legislation plan, which will clarify the responsibilities of individuals in garbage sorting as well, Sun said.

The legislation will make "soft" restrictions "hard," Sun said.

People in Beijing generate nearly 26,000 tons of household waste a day, or 1.1 kilograms per person.

The garbage should be sorted into four categories: kitchen waste, recyclable waste, hazardous waste and other waste.

More than 100 areas covering 30 percent of the city have become garbage sorting exemplary zones. 

Chinese cities at or above the prefecture level will start garbage sorting in 2019, according to an official circular. By the end of the year, all of the said cities must have developed a plan to implement garbage sorting.

Global Times