A boat collects garbage on Tonghui River in Chaoyang district on May 30, 2007. Photo: CFP

By Zhang Hui

Garbage disposal, air and water quality are what concern residents most and what they are keenest to know about, according to a report released Friday on environmental awareness.

Backed by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, the Horizon Research Consultancy Group report analyzed changes in environmental awareness two years after the Olympics.

Some 87 percent of residents wanted to volunteer for environmental protection projects, the report found, but 67 percent had no idea how to volunteer, a significantly higher rate than the 46 percent of 2008.

The most important change needed was more freedom of information and government transparency, suggested the founder of Lü Jiayuan, an environmental NGO Sunday.

Residents need and have to know the reality of the environment, said Wang Yongchen, before they act on their own initiative and join in on environmental protection.

"We've had too many vacuous environmental slogans in recent years," Wang said.

Most residents are fed up with empty slogans like "Save energy, protect the planet," that disinclined them to participate, according to Wang.

Environmental participation activities are stuck in a rut, she argued.

"Picking up garbage and batteries won't make much difference to the environment."

Many residents came to ask her about more interesting ways of contributing to environmental protection, Wang said.

Horizon had sent questionnaires to 1,700 residents aged 16 to 65 who lived in one of six downtown districts more than two years.

About half were annoyed by water, noise and air pollution, Chen Xiaoli, Horizon vice president, said at a panel discussion organized for the report by the environmental bureau on Friday.

"The Olympics is increasing its influence on people's environmental awareness and lifestyle," said Du Shaozhong, deputy chief of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

Du said the report had found 62 percent of residents believed the environment has improved and 86 percent said their personal environmental awareness had improved after the Olympics.

Vehicle exhaust was the main source of air pollution for six years running, the report stated.

"The design of the roads and overpasses should be blamed for air pollution," Yang Minsen, president of the China Environment News, said at the panel discussion.