Community turning trash into treasure in Zhengzhou

Residents in Zhengzhou have found a variety of new methods to deal with their garbage, after the capital city of Central China's Henan province began to implement its first regulation on domestic waste management on Dec 1.

"We mix dark brown sugar, clean pre-dinner kitchen waste and water in proportion. After three months of fermentation in sealed containers, an environmentally friendly enzyme can be produced," said a community staff member in Jinshui district. "The enzyme can be used to relieve itching caused by mosquito bites or made into detergent after being diluted with water."

In the community, dirty and smelly garbage collection chambers were changed into a small room made of glass, where kitchen waste can be turned into useful daily necessities and fertilizer.

"We will send the organic fertilizer to suburban farms and farmers to provide our residents fruit and vegetables at lower prices. It will be a good green and circular lifestyle," said the staff member.

In another community in the district, after submitting personal information via a mini program running on the social platform WeChat, residents can get exclusive garbage bags from the "garbage bank".

When residents send the bags filled with recyclable items to the special bank, they can get a corresponding amount of money in their WeChat wallets according to the weight.

"We have built 17 'garbage banks' around Zhengzhou," said Liu Fang, operating director of the project. "We hope the project can help residents change their recyclable resources into real treasures."

The city uses four garbage classification standards: kitchen waste, recyclables, hazardous waste and other waste, according to the newly amended regulation passed by the local government.

Residents who fail to follow garbage classification standards will face fines of 50 yuan ($7.09) if they refuse to rectify the issue, according to the regulation.