Garbage sorting efforts produce green results

Vegetables are grown with water extracted from kitchen waste in Jiuxian sub-district, Tonglu county, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Garbage sorting is just one of many ways to help the earth become greener.

In the Jiuxian sub-district in Tonglu county, East China's Zhejiang province, this initiative has literally yielded greener results – water extracted from waste is being used to grow vegetables.

According to a local official named Wang Fen, perishables collected were previously turned into fertilizer. But only a small group of people were using the fertilizer.

To address this issue, Hangzhou Nanda Environmental Protection Technology Co Ltd and China Jiliang University built a special facility that decomposes perishables into water and air.

The authorities are currently experimenting with growing vegetables using the water extracted by the facility. This method of planting vegetables will be implemented on a large scale if it passes the tests conducted by professional institutions, according to Huang Yong, deputy head of operation and maintenance at Nanda Environmental Technology.

According to local authorities, Tonglu county saw a decrease in domestic garbage in 2021.

Tonglu's household garbage volume edged down 0.02 percent in the past year thanks to sustained efforts by the local government to promote garbage classification, recycling and harmless disposal.

Jiuxian sub-district was a standout performer in the campaign. In 2021, domestic garbage in the sub-district dropped by 12 percent year-on-year.

Wang noted that Jiuxian has also established several shops where residents can exchange recyclable garbage for daily necessities like tissue, toothpaste and notebooks.

Five such shops and a mobile facility have been set up in the sub-district to date.

In addition, 163 stations that recycle renewable resources have been built in Tonglu, among which 99 have started operation. The county has also established seven perishable waste disposal stations.