Beijingers handed new avenues to report littering motorists

After a report claimed that the capital's major highways are a "disaster zone" of garbage, Beijing residents are being encouraged to snitch on litterbugs who throw trash from vehicles. From Wednesday, the public can post photos of the miscreants to a Sina Weibo account or report them to a new anti-littering hotline.

Beijing's ring roads and highways are plagued by cigarette butts, fruit peel, paper napkins and plastic bags, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment, the Beijing Times reported.

A senior official from the commission said that a huge amount of garbage is thrown out of vehicles, and sanitation workers have to risk life and limb crossing busy roads to pick it up.

Several sanitation workers in Beijing said they thought it would be very difficult to stop this behavior from motorists.

"It's really annoying. We sweep the place. They throw litter. Then we have to sweep again," a street sweeper, surnamed Fan, told the Global Times Wednesday.

All kinds of drivers throw garbage on the streets, and they will often curse the workers if we try to remonstrate with them, said Fan,"but it's hard to take photos of them, as they're so quick."

The capital's traffic and city management authorities can either warn the transgressors or fine them up to 200 yuan ($32.56), according to the country's law on road traffic safety.