What a mess

A recent survey of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau has found that spitting on streets, littering, open-air barbecues and smoking in public are the most pressing environmental issues for Beijing residents.

I was thinking: Barbeques popular in Beijing? Maybe in some of the (very few) villa compounds, but that’s not what people meant, I suppose. Probably it is the kebab sellers. Personally I like kebab. And in view of their popularity, many Beijingers like kebab. So, probably they will not disappear soon.

Smoking in public? I wouldn’t mind as long as it is in the open air.

Littering? China, and certainly Beijing, is famous for the many sweepers cleaning the streets almost continuously. Besides, in the public areas there are many garbage bins and more and more people do use them! Most people live in compounds where dumping is regulated and containers are used. So, why these complaints? I guess it is the domestic refuse that is dumped in the streets (though mostly at allocated places), especially in hutongs as ours. Recently our street committee changed the rules. Dumping of domestic waste is now only allowed between 7 and 8 PM when the whistle of the dustman goes. It seems that gradually people are accepting this rule.

Spitting on the streets? As long as the air pollution (especially the dust!) is that grave, this practice will not disappear. I must confess that I myself adopted this bad habit for this very reason.

(Littering and spitting are officially not allowed anyway, and fines are high.)

But we all definitely find each other in the urgent need for combating air pollution.

Residents take aim at bad habits
(China Daily, 2007-10)

Spitting on streets, littering, open-air barbecues and smoking in public - these could soon be things of the past if Beijing residents get their way.

The city's authorities invited residents last month to list what they felt were the worst habits in daily life that led to pollution and suggest improvements, in a bid to spruce up the environment in time for next year's Olympic Games.

The Beijing environmental protection bureau said that it received close to 200,000 responses that listed the above habits as the most pressing.

Popular suggestions for improving the environment also included turning off vehicles' engines at red lights, wetting dusty streets before sweeping them and using environment-friendly appliances at home and at work. "A city's image is reflected in its air quality", said bureau official Zhang Baosen. "Improving Beijing's air quality for the Olympics requires the combined efforts of the government and the city's 17 million residents."

Measures to improve the capital's air quality have already been taken since the start of the year.

In mid-August, about 1.3 million cars were successfully banned from the city's roads to improve air quality. Major air pollutants including nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide were reduced by about 20 percent, a report by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center showed.

The municipal government has also taken steps for people to use public transport instead of cars by cutting the metro ticket price by more than 30 percent and giving discounts of up to 60 percent on bus tickets early this year.

Meanwhile, leading steel manufacturer Shougang Group has pledged to reduce emissions by more than 70 percent from next July to September prior to the Games.