TIANJIN, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Scanning a QR code at a smart recycling bin, 63-year-old Zhong Qiaoping selected "recyclables" on her phone. After dropping in a cardboard box, her reward points jumped to 18,000, worth 180 yuan (around 25.1 U.S. dollars) under the local rules in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

"What matters is our cleaner neighborhood," Zhong said, standing at one of five smart waste stations in her community in Binhai New Area. "Protecting the environment has become part of our lives."

Since 2020, the high-tech zone in Tianjin has deployed AI to encourage garbage sorting. For elderly individuals or children without smartphones, contactless cards provide an alternative to unlock the system. "Recyclables earn market-based points instantly," said Sun Lina with the operations firm Tianjin Tongchuang Yunke Technology Co. Ltd.

The city's experiment reflects a national shift. China now leads globally in renewable energy use, forest expansion, and electric vehicle production, backed by a "green development" policy formalized in 2015.

At an incineration plant operated by Tianjin TEDA Environmental Protection Co., Ltd., 800 tonnes of trash are burnt daily to generate power. Last year, the plant generated 120 million kWh of electricity, equivalent to the annual power consumption of 100,000 households.

"Batteries and tubes once jammed our operations. Now they're rare," plant manager Liu Xuejing noted, adding that it reflects the rising public awareness of environmental protection. Residual ash is mixed with cement to form construction bricks, thereby closing the recycling loop, Liu said.

Since 2017, Tianjin has also incorporated ecological protection into its school curricula. Students tour recycling plants and incinerators, witnessing sustainability in action.

When Tianjin citizen Lin Qiang bought a new phone last month, he summoned a courier on an app. Within 72 hours, the old device reached a recycling hub in south China's Guangdong Province. There, cameras and circuit boards were extracted, and metals like gold and palladium were refined.

It is estimated that with a complete used phone recycling system in place across China, 60,000 tonnes of metals, 80,000 tonnes of plastic and 40,000 tonnes of glass will be recovered annually.

"Everyone can contribute to the circular economy," Lin said, tracking his phone's dismantling in real-time.

As China pursues carbon neutrality by 2060, public buy-in grows: 75 percent embrace eco-consumption, according to data from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.