A smart garbage recycling machine, the first of its kind in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, is put into use on April 28. [Photo/Ningbo Evening News]

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province has been ranked among the top three cities in China in promoting garbage classification for the first two quarters of this year.

Released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on a quarterly basis, the ranking was made by evaluating 46 key cities that were included in the nation's pilot program for garbage classification.

Household garbage from Ningbo shrank 4.5 percent in the first half of this year, official data showed.

A total of 397,400 metric tons of recyclables were collected in the city from January to July, resulting in a decrease of 79,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

To date, Ningbo has launched smart garbage recycling machines in 12 sites across the city.

Residents are required to dispose of their garbage in a classified manner after swiping cards or scanning their faces or inputting codes to operate the machines.

The machines are able to automatically break disposed garbage bags and weigh the content. They can also identify those who infringe on the regulations by using facial recognition and AI technologies.

In the first half of this year, 259 residential communities in the city were designated provincial models for garbage classification, 59 more than the target pre-set by the city.

The city's 11 major express parcel distribution centers have all adopted recyclable plastic bags, while 81 star-rated hotels have banned the using of disposable products.

Over the six-month period, a total of 1,892 cases related to municipal garbage classification law violations were handled in Ningbo, with fines exceeding 180,000 yuan ($27,692).