Adam Minter, author of the Shanghai Scrap blog, who has spent hundreds of hours wandering in China's scrap recycling markets says he was intrigued by the large white sacks caught on the CCTV footage of the Yueyue incident. He says Chen Xianmei is more accurately discribed as a "scrap peddler" rather than a "trash collector" and offers the following reasons: more ›

File this in things we wonder how the Shanghai government hopes to enforce: household garbage fees. From Eastday comes news that the authorities may want residents to pay for what htey throw out, thanks to the rapid increase in the amount of domestic waste and the slow catch-up of treatment facilities: "At present, Shanghai can only process around 10,000 tons of waste a day in an environment-friendly fashion, excluding industrial waste, while the city produces almost double that amount. Expanding processing facilities, limiting over-packaging, promoting trash sorting and recycling and charging are all useful measures to achieve that aim, officials said." more ›

If you took part in the recent lights out for Earth Hour and were left wanting to learn more about sustainable eco living, then the upcoming Eco Design Fair should be just the thing for you. The biannual eco design gathering was held at the URBN hotel in 2009, but is moving over to The Waterhouse hotel this year and will be showcasing eco-conscious designers and products to general consumers. more ›

Aw man, and we were doing so good with those plastic bags....dang it. But yes, according to Global Entrepreneur magazine, China creates 30.6% of the world's waste or an unbelievable 150 million tons every year. more ›

People sure like trying to get to the Expo in weird ways. First was that dude who swam from Wuhan, now here's a person who built a "Noah's Ark" made of discarded bottles and spent over five months drifting down 1500km of river to finally make it to Qingpu District. more ›

While most of the news about e-waste in China is on its deadly environmental impact, Shanghai Scrap argues that really, what people should be talking about now is the country's new comprehensive e-waste recycling programs - one of the best funded in the world. Not only is it saving the environment, it could give you great discounts on new tech! Thanks to the direct subsidies for purchasing old electronics, an informal market has sprung up to sell you dead tech to exchange for recycling vouchers. It's a win on all fronts - for you, for e-waste resellers and for the environment! more ›

The recent landslides in Gansu, which have racked up a death toll of killed 1117 people so far, has gotten the LA Times to ponder the issue of disposable chopsticks. Why? Because apparently, they contribute greatly to the ongoing deforestation and desertification of China, which has been blamed for causing worse floods every year. more ›

Unlike so many of those elderly Chinese men we see on the street walking their miniature dogs (or birds) in their pajamas, Han Fushan, a 71-year-old retired engineer living in Beijing has found a way to give his community something nice to look at. Han spends much of his time transforming discarded plastic bags (fun fact: about 300 tonnes of plastic is thrown away a day here) into high-flying kites. In the process, Han has gained the attention of many fellow park-goers, garnering what Reuters calls a “solid fan base” through his now 600-strong collection of uniquely imaginative kites, some of which feature local sports stars and opera singers. Photo from Xinhua more ›

Ever wonder what happens to your old electronics? 60 Minutes aired a story on the dirty underbelly of electronics "recycling" in the States, and it turns out that a significant amount of American "e-waste" ends up in Chinese landfills. As if China didn't produce enough garbage of its own, computers, cell phones, household electronics, and pretty much anything with petty salvageable parts find their way to Chinese junkyards, and are burned, ripped apart and corroded for valuable metals. more ›

Shanghai Scrap has a great analysis of the differences in mentality between recycling in China and recycling in the West. While in Europe and North America recycling is a moral act done almost as a penance for overconsumption, in the developing world it's done because it's economical. more ›

Here's a good new way to help out a local charity, and avoid paying the scandalous prices some businesses are now charging for carrier bags (we're looking at you Waga's...) more ›

Adam Minter has the answer: more ›

Giving money to the poor in Shanghai is not as straightforward as you'd think. more ›

Shanghaiist was delighted to learn that there is finally an environmentally-friendly way to get rid of the contents of her "electronic junk and bad DVD drawer of death." more ›