20,000 Cleaners Sweep Firecracker Garbage in Beijing

Some 20,000 sanitation workers in Beijing would be on duty for collection of the debris of firecrackers set off by citizens during the Spring Festival period, according to the municipal authorities.

Street sanitation workers in the capital started working in the early hours of Sunday to sweep debris of firecrackers ignited on the eve of the Lunar New Year as the city's authorities had ordered an early clean-up.

On Saturday night and early Sunday, the city saw an ignition peak of fireworks as people celebrated the beginning of a new year according to the lunar calendar. The debris, centimeters thick, could also be seen in front of many residential buildings.

The city environment authorities had ordered sanitation workers to finish cleaning before 6 a.m. each day during the week-long Spring Festival season.

The sales of fireworks saw a sharp increase this year in Beijing to reach 380,000 boxes, compared with 240,000 boxes last year, according to a municipal public security official.

Chinese usually ignite firecrackers during traditional Chinese festivals, especially the Spring Festival, to expect good luck for the coming year.

Beijing lifted a 12-year ban on firecrackers in 2005. With the fifth ring road as the dividing line, the whole city is divided into firecracker areas and forbidden areas. Firecrackers had been banned in the capital for environment and safety concerns.

So far, 125 local residents have been injured for igniting the firecrackers, including three seriously, with one person's eyeballs being removed, said a spokesman with the Beijing Fireworks Administration Office.

Editor：Jing