Is garbage disposal fee necessary?

　　Zhang ZhiyongTHE city of Guangzhou will impose a garbage disposal fee in the near future, Guangzhou municipal pricing authorities announced recently. According to the program, a family with permanent residence will have to pay five yuan per month, while enterprises, individual business owners, and other institutions six yuan per month. Migrants will pay one yuan per month. Would it be necessary for Shenzhen to follow suit? Are there environmental benefits in paying such fee? How would Shenzhen residents respond to a garbage disposal fee? Shenzhen Daily sought some opinions.

　　Mr. Li, official with the urban management authority The municipal administration is considering imposing a garbage disposal fee in Shenzhen.

　　As far as I know, Guangzhou is not the first in the country to add a garbage disposal fee. So far Fuzhou (the capital of Fujian Province) and Liaoning Province have implemented the program. Shenzhen has a marvelous environment, and the city has won the Nations in Bloom and the Global 500 environmental awards. However, it also has polluted rivers and some people have not yet recognized the importance of environmental protection. Therefore, I think it’s quite necessary to impose fees, so garbage disposal facilities can be upgraded to enhance the environmental sense of the local citizens.

　　I think most Shenzhen residents would accept the implementation of a fee, because it is part of public service. However, from a corporate perspective, I think it’s better to raise property management payment than add a new fee. Because the property management payment covers services like cleaning, garbage collection, security and elevator maintenance, among other things.

　　Li Qiang, software engineer living in Guangzhou

　　I am a migrant but a permanent resident, so I do not care much about the garbage disposal fee. Many migrants were indifferent to the garbage disposal fee, as they didn’t have properties in the city. However, the garbage disposal fee was at least not expensive and the municipal government had also held public hearings. I moved to Guangzhou early this year from the city of Ningbo.

　　I would pay the money if the service includes garbage collection, because no one collects the garbage at the place where I rent an apartment. I wish they would collect the garbage tidily and timely. The disposal fee in Guangzhou is not expensive. If Shenzhen introduces a similar fee, I think most residents would accept it. However, it’s not the amount of money that matters, but where the money goes. If residents can see disposal facilities being upgraded or sanitation workers having higher earnings, I wouldn’t care about the amount of money.I think the authorities would be accountable with pricing. In my opinion, garbage disposal fees could become a trend in China because the disposal industry is extremely short of funds, leaving its facilities underdeveloped.