With the rapid development of the catering industry, the amount of garbage generated in big cities has increased, adding to the problem of waste disposal. And with "reused cooking oil" and "garbage pigs" threatening food safety, the authorities need to take immediate action to ensure public health, says an article on xinhuanet.com. Excerpts:

On Aug 2, several ministries announced the establishment of a special fund of 630 million yuan ($98.58 million) for the development of circular economy to support recycling and bio-safe disposal of garbage, including kitchen waste, and help ensure scientific disposal of garbage.

But even before the fund and measures were announced, regulations to properly dispose kitchen waste were in place. It's only that legal recycling companies could not compete with illegal ones because of lack of proper mechanism and interest at the local execution level. With illegal recycling companies in the business, many unsafe wastes have found their way back to dining tables.

The key to solving the recycling problem is to eliminate the illegal companies and make the recycling process safe and secure.

Since kitchen waste disposal can be profitable business, it's important to strictly regulate the sector and ensure that only legal companies operate.

The authorities can devise a system to award companies for safe and environmentally friendly disposal of wastes with favorable policies and funds, instead of only punishing those that fail to do so. The authorities should increase the supervision level, too, by imposing higher fines and other severe punishment measures on illegal companies.