A further 1 million households will be added to the city's "green account" scheme this year in an effort to boost people's interest in sorting garbage, authorities said yesterday.
Green account holders earn points by dumping dry and wet garbage into different bins. They can redeem the points for milk, cellphone cards and tickets to tourist attractions, or use them to pay their utility bills.
Volunteers work in neighborhoods to help people sort their garbage. They also give out the reward points.
To date, about 1.05 million households in Shanghai are included in the scheme.
This year, the green account card is expected to join forces with another environmental protection card that allows people to collect points by sending electronic garbage to collection spots instead of dumping it.
People can redeem the points for gifts.
Lu Yuexing, director of the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau, said yesterday that "people can use either card in their eco-friendly efforts and the points can be accumulated in one card in the future."
Also, the Bailian Group and Internet video firm PPTV will join in the green account scheme.
People can apply for a green account card at their neighborhood committee.
"We've been sorting garbage for more than a year since the launch of the scheme," a person surnamed Lin told Shanghai Daily.
The 80-year-old lives on Nanjing Road W.
"Sorting garbage is good for the environment. I think everyone should do it, while the reward scheme is bonus to encourage more to participate."
According to Lin, every two or three months the district's greenery authority and neighborhood committee organize a meeting, so cardholders can swap their points for gifts.
"Last time, nearly 200 people came to redeem the points, but they didn't have enough gifts so many people missed out," she said.
The lucky ones got such things as soap, shampoo and detergent, she added.
"It would be nice if I could use my points at the supermarket," she said.
The green accounts are popular only with old people.
Several young people said they'd never heard of the scheme and never sort their garbage.
A person aged 45 and called Zhou said: "I sort my garbage, but don't use the green account cards. To collect points, you have to dump stuff in the required dustbin at a particular time, while we have a similar sorting bin just near my home."
Lin said that "youngsters don't have time to scan the cards."
She also said that the volunteers only come and scan cards between 9am and 10am and 5pm and 6pm.
"Most of the participants are aged above 60," she said.
The amount of domestic garbage treated per day in Shanghai was 16,435 tons last year, compared with 18,902 tons in 2011. Poor awareness and unclear signs are the major problems hindering garbage sorting, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said in a poll published in the past.
