Holiday trash collections rise

Shanghai residents threw out 105,164 tons of household waste during this year's Spring Festival holiday, up 0.6 percent from last year, the local sanitation authority said Friday.

More than 30,000 sanitation workers collected the 15,023 tons of waste that residents disposed of daily during the seven-day holiday, according to a press release from the Shanghai City Appearance and Environmental Sanitation Administration Bureau.

Workers cleaned up 1,000 tons of firework debris from the city streets Thursday morning after residents set off fireworks Wednesday night to welcome the God of Wealth for the Lunar New Year as per Chinese tradition. Workers cleaned up 1,300 tons of firework debris on the same day during the previous year.

Sanitation authorities had encouraged residents to go easier on the fireworks while ringing in the Year of the Snake.

"Fewer people set off fireworks this year, in part because we put more effort into promoting a quieter and greener Spring Festival before the holiday," said Meng Shujie, a press officer from the Shanghai City Appearance and Environmental Sanitation Administration Bureau.

Wednesday's firework displays caused the air pollution in the city to increase. The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) rose to 144 as of 2 am Thursday, considered lightly polluted, according to the Shanghai Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. The city's hourly PM 2.5 reading reached 282 micrograms per cubic meter.

The holiday fireworks led the Shanghai Municipal Fire Department to receive 45 fire reports from midnight Wednesday to 2 am Thursday, making up about 32 percent of the total fires reported in the city over the period, the Shanghai Morning Post reported.

Most of the fires occurred on balconies above the 10th floor in residential buildings. The fire department advised residents to keep their balconies clear of flammable materials.