China opens first waste-sorting education institute to promote public awareness

By Xu Keyue Source:Global Times Published: 2019/7/9 21:38:41

Residents of Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang Province play games at the city's garbage-sorting activity on Children's Day on June 1. Photo: Courtesy of Qiu Yong, head of the general office of the garbage-sorting education institute



As the garbage-sorting campaign sweeps across China, the city of Taizhou in East China's Zhejiang Province recently launched the country's first garbage-sorting education institute to further promote public awareness. 

The institute, jointly built by Taizhou garbage-sorting authorities and Taizhou Radio and Television University, is a comprehensive garbage-sorting education platform that offers free online and offline courses to those interested. 

The institute was established to better promote cooperation between the government, public organizations and citizens, Qiu Yong, head of the general office of the institute, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Citizens are actually the main force behind the project," Ding Yaping, deputy head of the general office of the institute, told the Global Times. 

Citizens can apply to take classes and join activities of the institute, Ding said, noting the institute pays special attention to building up the children's sense of garbage recycling and sorting.

The institute launched a series of activities for local students during their summer vacation, Qiu said. For example, an activity named "where the garbage goes" would organize primary and middle school students to visit local demonstration residential areas, garbage transfer stations, refuse landfills and incinerators where the waste disposal work runs. 

Apart from public activities, the institute is also committed to research on urban waste disposal and waste resource utilization.

Through the trial operation which lasted half a year, the institute researched on biotechnology disposal of kitchen waste and applications of mud solidification technology for recycling construction waste. 

The institute also drafted the industry standards in the city to ensure the industry's sustainable development.

China will invest 21.3 billion yuan ($3.09 billion) in trash sorting in 2019, and 46 cities will be integrated into the sorting network by the end of 2020.

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