The more trash you produce, the more money you pay for its treatment. That will become a reality in Beijing, according to a meeting on Tuesday on the classification of trash. Some working units and residential neighborhoods will be selected to practice the new policy on a trial basis starting this year.

It is not easy for a city as big as Beijing to treat the garbage produced by its residents in a safe and clean manner. Thanks to efforts in the past decades, more than 90 percent of trash in Beijing can be treated in a harmless way and such a rate will reach 98 percent by the end of the year.

Yet, it is still a tough task to reduce the total amount of trash, which is estimated to be 15,000 tons a day, and realize its classification citywide.