Three pilot rubbish-sorting schemes kicked off in Guangzhou last week, with officials and the media going all out to promote them as a long-term solution to mountains of waste engulfing the city.
But following strong opposition to government plans to build five incinerators in the city, the launch of the pilot schemes has met with a mixed response.
Civil servants, housewives, students and volunteers are being mobilised to lead a campaign to make sure everyone knows about the new policy, with several communities involved in the pilot schemes, all based on a Taiwanese experience.
The government has also vowed to spend more on sorting and transport of rubbish and set up a public committee to monitor its expenditure. It spent 2.2 billion yuan (HK$2.67 billion) on handling garbage last year.
By the end of this year, all the communities on more than 130 streets will be part of garbage-sorting trial schemes. The Guangzhou Daily reported that the city plans to fully adopt rubbish sorting by 2015.
Many people have said that sorting garbage to separate out recyclable items is much better than just burning everything in incinerators. However, while most support the idea, some have concerns about how the sorting will actually work and have doubts about the government's commitment.