Responses

Image of recycling bins
Image of recycling bins

Approaches leading to improvement

Guangzhou Agenda 21

This program included plans for solid waste management and environmental protection and improvement  (Lo and Shung, 2004, p. 154).

Green Community Campaign: Communities are audited to engage in a variety of green initiatives such as green consumption.

Increase behaviors of waste separation at the source.

Public participation is important because production of household solid waste amassed to 170.81 million tons in the year 2012 (Zhang, Huang, Yin, and Gong, 2015, p. 9476).

Setback responses

The “economy first” mentality pertains.

Guangzhou’s environmental agency is still unable to push its green agenda because of the continuous passage of unsustainable projects focused on promoting the economy, not the environment (Lo and Shung, 2004, p. 162).


References

Drahkrub. (Photographer). (2011, May). Unrecycling [digital image]. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unrecycling-(dkrb).jpg

Lo, C. W. H., & Chung, S. S. (2004). The responses and prospects of sustainable development for Guangzhou and Hong Kong. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 11 (2), 151-167. doi: 10.1080/13504500409469819

Zhang, D., Huang, G., Yin, X., & Gong, Q. (2015). Residents’ waste separation behavior at the source: Using SEM with the theory of planned behavior in Guangzhou, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12 (8), 9475-9491. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120809475