A smart garbage sorting system in a community in Shanghai. (Photo/Chinanew.com)

Citizens in east China’s Shanghai are searching for trash cans on and offline as the city’s legislation on household garbage sorting and recycling is set to go into effect on July 1, National Business Daily reported via its app on Tuesday.

According to the regulations on household garbage sorting and recycling, which was adopted by Shanghai’s municipal legislature on Jan. 31, Shanghai will enforce a four-category garbage sorting rule from July 1, which requires citizens to dispose of garbage in categories of recyclable, hazardous, wet, and dry trash.

Before the new regulations, household garbage in Shanghai was classified as glass, hazardous, recyclable, and other waste, meaning citizens would put dry and wet garbage in the same trash can. Recently, in response to the new rule, people have started to buy trash cans that have separate containers for wet and dry waste.

The new requirements have boosted sales of various trash cans and garbage disposal units.

According to local media, even though shops have replenished stock, trash can supplies have still fallen short of demand, with one shop owner disclosing that sales of trash cans with markings to indicate garbage categories have been the most popular.

While regular trash cans can be bought for less than 10 yuan (about $1.45), new ones that have separate compartments for dry and wet waste have been found for as much as 188 yuan each.

The hottest trash can online is a Japanese double-decker trash can, selling for 198 yuan. Though much more expensive than a regular bin, sales have exceeded 10,000, with the majority of buyers living in Shanghai, according to local media.

As it’s not easy to sort kitchen waste into dry and wet waste, some people have decided to buy a garbage disposal unit which claims that it can pulverize kitchen waste into flour and dispose of it through the sewer system.