The annual Dragon Boat Festival again calls for the yummy zongzi, a Chinese snack exclusive to this event for thousands of years. How to deal with the waste of zongzi, like finished leaves, ropes, and fillings? It was at a salon centered around zongzi and its waste sorting in Luozhuang Community, Linping Sub-district, that the answer was made clear.

At the event, a five-meter-long table was laden with all the necessities: glutinous rice, red dates, bamboo leaves, and twine. People gathered around, chatting about daily life as they deftly layered and rolled two slender, verdant bamboo leaves, filled them with soaked rice, added a date, folded, and wrapped them up. Under their skilled hands, the rounded, inviting zongzi, or rice dumplings, swiftly took shape.

Community volunteers shared tips on waste sorting during the cooking of zongzi. “I thought that zongzi leaves must be the perishable, but it actually falls on the other waste. I would thank the community, otherwise I would put them in a wrong place,” said Chen, a resident in the event.

In addition to wrapping zongzi, the event also featured a game centered around waste sorting. “We won’t forget our traditions, but we will stay open to new ideas.” Chen commented. She believed such an event was not only a good gathering but a class of waste handling for them. 

The Linping Sub-district authority stated that this event was not only a publicity of the Chinese traditions but a call for green ways of life. Next, further steps will be taken with an aim for the effectiveness of domestic waste sorting across the area it oversees.