As Shanghai residents get into sorting their household waste, ways are being found to help those who miss fixed disposal times.

Property managers at the Vanke Golden Mileage complex in the Pudong New Area’s Sanlin area are considering collecting trash from outside residents' doors for 50 yuan (US$7.9) a month. The complex has 966 households and five fixed disposal spots. Four have fixed times.

In the past, there were more than 70 bins at nearly 30 spots inside the complex, but they were removed before the household waste regulations took effect.

A large number of residential complexes have begun trials of "designated time, designated place" methods, soon to be promoted citywide.

However, many residents are unhappy about the system, particularly those having a 996 working schedule, which means "9am to 9pm, six days a week."

There have been reports of individuals collecting and dumping trash for others at a cost of 1 yuan each time, but this is the first time that the service has been raised by a property manager.

"Most office workers who return home after 9pm miss the disposal time, and don't want to walk to the 24-hour spot," said Shi Miaomiao, the complex property manager.

Unsorted waste has been spotted at the 24-hour site and trash has been randomly dumped. The collection service could ease that problem, Shi said.

However, residents will still need to sort their trash correctly and garbage bags should be sealed to prevent smells. Cleaners will collect sorted trash at doorways within an hour, said Shi, and corridors will be disinfected regularly.

"The biggest concern is that some residents fear that putting garbage in the corridors will attract flies," said Shi.

"We need to consider both the demand and cost," she said. "There are nine cleaners at the community, and they all have enough work already. We need to hire another full-time person."

"I often work overtime and return home at midnight, missing the disposal time," said resident Zhu. "If the 24-hour spot is closed, I need to dump garbage very early every day and I need more sleep time."

Wu Minhui, a retiree at the complex, said: "I have prepared a bin for wet trash at home, and I take the whole bin out to dump garbage.

"I drop wet garbage twice a day, but young people probably don't have the time."

However, there were concerns.

"How to ensure the corridor environment if garbage is placed at doorway? Will it cause a smell or pest invasion?" said a resident surnamed Li.

"Whether the trash can be cleared quickly is also a question because households have different schedules," she said.

Another resident surnamed Zhang said: "The service does not help people form the habit of waste sorting."

Liu Jun, a garbage-sorting volunteer at the complex, said the service is flexible.

"For seniors, they dispose of garbage when taking a stroll, but young people are busy," she said. "The service can meet the demands of a few people, and provides another option."

The service seems to have a bigger market beyond the residential complex.

"I am very willing to sort garbage, but I often work overtime, missing the night disposal, and it is difficult for me to get up early to dispose trash in the morning," said Jack Lin, an IT worker in Xuhui District. "Such a service is really considerate and I hope there will be similar one in my community."