5 ways Beijing’s Tongzhou district combats pollution

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‍To curb "urban diseases," Beijing has spread its facilities to suburban regions including Tongzhou district, but the region is not about letting its environment set off on the old path.

Here are five ways Tongzhou is solving its environmental issues.

Environment ‘police’

According to Tongzhou District Environmental Protection Agency, two environment “police officers” have been on the beat since September to investigate reports and oversee factories, companies and residents’ actions that influence the environment. As of early November, the crew has solved 758 cases and handed out fines of over 2,500 yuan, the first and the second among all districts in Beijing.

Firework ban

China Daily Photo

Since early 2000, many Chinese cities have been operating firework bans during the holiday season to cut waste and avoid air pollution, but Tongzhou has taken the ban to the next level.

Areas in red circle are banned from fireworks all year round. /Beijing Tongzhou District Environmental Protection Agency Photo

Starting last week, the district has circled out areas that will ban fireworks all year round. Fireworks will only be allowed during certain holidays and certain time in the day in the rest areas.

Electric road sweepers

Beijing Tongzhou District Environmental Protection Agency Photo

Tongzhou’s Environmental Protection Agency has imported 10 new all-electric sweepers to take under control the dirt on 61 main roads in the district from 10:00 am to 15:00 pm every day.

'Green construction'

Beijing Tongzhou District Environmental Protection Agency Photo

The Environmental Protection Agency in Tongzhou has set up 200 particulate monitors on construction sites to inspect the air quality. The monitors will collect the statistics and send back to the computer system where authorities can oversee the situation real-time.

Charging ports for electric cars

Tongzhou has installed 55 charging stations for electric vehicles at expressway service areas and shopping malls. Two of the stations are for its 510 electric taxies.

Beijing, on the other hand, is planning on building far more charging ports for the city, 1,895, to be exact. About 1,615 of those charging ports will be installed in Tongzhou District. The city has set the goal to install a charging station every two kilometers in the district by 2020.