Sort your trash or face a fine

Credit: Hu Min / SHINE

Caption: Garbage bins on Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall are designed for two types of trash.

Put your trash in the wrong public bin from July 1, and you face a 200 yuan (US$30) fine.

In most public areas such as streets and metro stations in Shanghai, there are only bins for dry and recyclable waste because eating is not encouraged in public venues.

Bins for wet trash are only found at a few commercial areas or tourist attractions, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.

Under international practice, wet trash should be brought to dumping or collection spots at nearby residential communities or other set collection channels, the bureau said.

People can also prepare a bag in advance and take food garbage home, according to the bureau.

Individual violators of Shanghai's first domestic garbage regulations will be ordered to fix the problem first. Or people can face a fine between 50 (US$7.3) and 200 yuan by the city's urban management and law enforcement.

"I am not aware of the regulations and I did not check the category of the bins," said a tourist in the Nanjing Road pedestrian mall surname Liu, from Sichuan Province.