Deputy Liu Rui, executive deputy director of the Department of Environment of the Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University, Zhejiang. [Photo/zj.zjol.com]

Deputies from Zhejiang province attending the third session of the 13th National People's Congress submitted many motions to address public concerns such as using serving chopsticks at communal meals, garbage classification containers and electric bicycle charging piles.

Deputy Liu Rui, executive deputy director of the Department of Environment of the Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University, Zhejiang, said she submitted a motion advocating the use of communal serving chopsticks when dining.

"Using serving chopsticks and promoting individual servings are of vital importance to people's health, as eating together might spread diseases and lead to food wastage," said Liu.

Deputy Chen Naike, vice-president of the Zhejiang Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, said he submitted a motion promoting household waste classification.

Deputy Chen Naike, vice-president of the Zhejiang Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. [Photo/zj.zjol.com]

According to Chen, great progress has been achieved in household waste classification in Zhejiang in recent years. The growth rate of household waste dropped from 12.2 percent in 2016 to 0.7 percent in 2019. Around 85 percent of the province's household waste was transformed into resources and 100 percent of the household waste was harmlessly treated in 2019.

Chen also suggested that goods manufacturers introduce waste category tags on the packages of products to help people better classify waste and raise awareness in garbage classification.

Deputy Zhang Tianren, president of the Tianneng Group, a battery manufacturer in Huzhou, suggested building charging piles for electric bicycles in old residential buildings.

"Electric bicycles have a promising future as the sharing economy is booming and people are increasingly preferring eco-friendly ways of mobility," said Zhang. "However, fires have frequently occurred in recent years due to inappropriate charging, especially in old residential buildings where people charge their bicycles at the staircase or indoors."

Deputy Zhang Tianren, president of the Tianneng Group, a battery manufacturer in Huzhou. [Photo/zj.zjol.com]