Shanghai residents who are fretting over a new waste management regulation which will take effect next Monday can now look to an Alipay mini program for help.
The waste classification guide is a third-party mini program on Alipay which tells users which bin to put their waste in. All they have to do is type the name of the waste item.
For example, if you type “cat litter” the app suggests putting “cat litter” in the residual waste or other waste bins. The search return would also list other types of waste that belong to the same category as “cat litter”.
Shanghai will start enforcing its compulsory waste management regulation which requires locals to sore their waste into four categories – recyclable waste, residual waste, household food waste, and hazardous waste.
Individuals who fail to follow the waste regulation management rules could get a RMB 200 fine (USD 29), and companies and institutions can be fined up to RMB 50,000.
The mini-programme at the moment covers more than 4,000 types of wastes.
Many users, however, seem to have a different query – the two most searched keywords on the waste classification mini program, which everyone can see on the app’s homepage, are “ex-boyfriend” and “ex-girlfriend”.
“This is not waste, but it could be harmful. It’s not advisable to put [him] into the recycling channel if he’s too awful. Please handle with caution,” the search results for “ex-boyfriend” read.