Campaign to promote office recycling

Writer: Wang Jingli  | Editor: Holly Wang  | From:  | Updated: 2019-07-31

Vanke Group, a Shenzhen-based real estate developer, officially launched a campaign to promote zero-waste offices yesterday at its headquarters’ Futian office, planning to reduce 70 percent of its office garbage by recycling in the next six months.

A key project by Vanke Foundation, the campaign is being piloted in the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen and is then expected to expand to offices in 86 cities across the country, involving 130,000 staffers within a year.

Shenzhen has been selected as one of 11 pilot cities in the country to promote the zero-waste concept in order to achieve green development and develop a green lifestyle. Vanke is said to be the first local Global 500 enterprise to have launched an action in response to the policy.

The successful experience will be shared with the Shenzhen Municipal Housing and Construction Bureau and Tencent’s headquarters, according to the municipal urban administration and law enforcement bureau.

Chen Yimei, secretary general of Vanke Foundation, told the Shenzhen Daily that the several focuses of the campaign include building a garbage sorting system at the office and giving out manuals to help staff understand how to sort and recycle garbage.

“Vanke Foundation has also joined hands with different departments to formulate a system to make this idea into a real practice. Additionally, we are currently composting the daily kitchen waste from the Futian office to help reduce the pressure on the city to handle this type of waste,” said Chen, adding that fertilizers produced from the waste can be used directly to nourish plants around the office.

Vanke began sorting its garbage in 2005. The zero-waste idea has become an important part of Vanke’s culture, according to Xie Dong, deputy Party secretary of Vanke Group.

A string of products made from various types of waste are also exhibited on site.

“These pens, rulers and table calendars were made from bubble milk tea bottles,” a staffer with Vanke Foundation explained to the Daily’s reporter. Their other recycled-waste products include a tea table made of waste egg shells and a lampshade made from chili residue.