Two workers recycle waste for a woman in Yuhang district, Hangzhou. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

The amount of incinerated household waste and landfill in Yuhang district, Hangzhou, decreased 7.7 percent from last year, according to a text message sent on Jan 6 by local authorities to the district's residents.

The local government sent the message to thank the 270,000 residents of Yuhang for their diligence in sorting waste.

"We have not reached our goal. This year, let's work even harder to build Yuhang into a national example for waste sorting," the message read.

The waste sorting campaign was launched in the district in early 2019, and the district hoped to prevent any increase in household waste.

We surpassed our expectations, said a local government official.

"For the past 11 months, the amount of incinerated household waste and landfill declined," added the official.

Statistics showed that the amount of incinerated household waste and landfill in the district decreased to 852,700 tons in 2019 from 923,900 tons in 2018, representing a decrease of 195 tons per day.

What makes the achievement even more impressive is the fact that the population of the district increased by over 200,000 people over the past year, said a representative of the leading waste sorting office of the Zhejiang Provincial Government.