The waste proportions of personal care products and amusement
and education were much higher in the new district,
most likely because young people represent a majority of
the population in the new district (89.97% of the residential
population in the new district is aged between 0 and 59),
and younger people tend to consume more beauty and
entertainment and/or education commodities. According to
the results of our questionnaires, household expenditures
on beauty and education/entertainment were 7.10% and
18.58% of total per capita expenditures in the new district,
both higher than the corresponding figures in the old district
(2.24% and 8.23%). Expenditures on education and amusement
in urban Suzhou accounted for 12.00% of per capita consumption in 2012 (SBSC, 2012), which was between the
old and new percentages, thereby confirming our survey
results