Volunteers rise to the green challenge

"Volunteer teams to promote ecological civilization have sprouted like mushrooms after the rain," Huang said.

Initially, Zhu, the farmer, only planned to make picking up trash a one-off event, but after spending more than an hour with the eight other women collecting rubbish, she commended the activity in a WeChat post.

"I thought it was very meaningful. After seeing the post, some women from other teams in my village also said they were willing to join the activity," she said.

In rural China, many villages consist of several residential blocks, with occupants in each one belonging to a team led by the village committee.

After contacting the village head, Zhu and her team decided to make picking up trash a regular activity on the first and 15th day of every month.

In July, when more than 70 villagers volunteered to join the activity, they decided to start a large-scale operation to clear a 6.5-kilometer stretch of the Shuanghe River.

The volunteers started work at around 6 am to avoid the scorching midday sun, but there was so much trash to pick up that it was 1 pm when they finished their duties for the day. Zhu was touched that many villagers brought food and drinks for the volunteers as they toiled under the fierce sun.

"The trash we collected that day was enough to fill six light trucks," she said.

Word of the voluntary efforts spread quickly, grabbing the attention of senior officials from the township government, who spoke highly of the efforts made by Zhu and her team, and decided to promote this work in the hope of encouraging more people to take part.

By late 2018, each of the township's 19 villages had set up such voluntary teams.

After consistent efforts by the teams, trash that previously could be seen almost everywhere in and around the river has all but disappeared, but Zhu said she will continue the voluntary waste-picking activities.

While the local government provides accident insurance for the volunteers, the teams also occasionally receive donations from individuals and enterprises to help with operating costs.

"With so much attention and support, I simply cannot stop," Zhu said.