Authorities issue 190 fines to waste management offenders

A total of 190 fines were issued in Shanghai in the past week since domestic waste management measures were implemented on July 1, Shanghai's urban management and law enforcement bureau said on Sunday.

Between July 1 and 6, the bureau dispatched 17,800 officers to conduct 9,600 inspections of trash stations in residential neighborhoods, hotels, shopping malls, hospitals and parks.

The officers stopped 6,704 people from improperly disposing of their trash and educated them about the four categories — residual waste, food waste, hazardous waste and recyclables.

Of the 190 fines that were issued, 15 were given to individuals while the rest were given to institutions.

The bureau added that 62.1 percent of the latter received fines for not setting up separate trash bins, 35.8 percent for not disposing of trash separately, and 2.1 percent for not properly transporting the trash.

According to the newly enforced regulations, individuals who do not properly separate their trash face a fine of between 50 and 200 yuan ($7 to 29), while institutions face a heftier fine that ranges from 5,000 to 50,000 yuan.