Data source: National Bureau of Statistics and other layout design: Cai Huawei

　　This year's Central Document No. 1 proposed: "Promote rural consumer goods for new products and improve recycling networks such as waste household appliances." When tap water enters the household and encounters household appliances for new products, what kind of "chemical reaction" will occur in promoting rural consumption? What problems did you encounter during the replacement process? Let’s follow the reporter to see a new story about home appliance replacement that happened in rural Ningxia.

　　——Editor

　　"The water heater is suitable now, and there is a subsidy for the old to trade in new ones"

　　Luan Maoxin has never been willing to replace the solar water heater that she has used for 15 years.

　　The rusty water heater has a smaller and smaller hot water storage. "When you take a bath and wash it halfway, you will run out of hot water." Luan Maoxin lives in the second team of Luhuatai Garden Farm Community, Xixia District, Yinchuan City, Ningxia. She hired a few repairers and found that the water heater's water storage tank is blocked with scale and it is difficult to clean.

　　The problem lies in "water". For a long time, villagers have used well water. The area of ​​Luhuatai Garden Farm Community is rich in groundwater resources, and the water from the well is pumped into the water tower by the machine, and then sent to each household. Each household pays 100 yuan in water fees per year.

　　Well water is cheap, but the sanitary conditions are not as good as tap water. It flows directly to the farmers' homes without precipitation filtration and multiple purification.

　　Luan Maoxin said: "The showerhead has a layer of white scale, not to mention the water pipe and water storage tank of the water heater."

　　The water quality is not high and the life of home appliances is affected. As the living standards of villagers improve, the voices of hope to use tap water are getting higher and higher. In July last year, the Xixia District Agriculture and Water Bureau connected the tap water pipeline network to the second team of Luhuatai Garden Farm Community. "If you unscrew the faucet, clear and clean tap water will flow out. It's very beautiful," Luan Maoxin recalled.

　　With tap water, the scale problem was solved. The maintenance master advised her: "It is difficult to clean the scale in the water storage tank, so why not replace this 'old guy'."

　　Chen Wenhao, a community cadre who visited the home, also suggested: "The water heater is suitable now, and there is a subsidy for the old to trade in the new!"

　　Luan Maoxin, who was careful, made up her mind to change to a new water heater and take a good hot bath in the future.

　　“The product price has dropped, but the quality has been better”

　　When it comes to exchanging old for new ones, Luan Maoxin is no stranger to it.

　　"I changed the TV and refrigerator last year. My son used his mobile phone to collect the coupons and then went to the mall to choose the goods." Now that his son is working outside, Luan Maoxin looked at the phone and didn't know where to start.

　　The anxious Luan Maoxin thought of Chen Wenhao who gave her advice. Chen Wenhao helped her download the application on her mobile phone, register and bind, select her region, and then enter the old-for-new area. Various products appear on the screen.

　　In Ningxia, there are more than 10,000 products participating in the home appliance trade-in event, and there are hundreds of solar water heaters that meet Luan Maoxin's needs.

　　For a moment, Luan Maoxin was dazzled.

　　"The second-level energy efficiency subsidy is 15%, and the first-level energy efficiency subsidy is 20%. " Chen Wenhao explained to his elder sister while talking about the policy that solar water heaters convert light energy into heat energy, consume less electricity, and most of them are first-level energy efficiency.

　　Looking at several products, getting coupons, and then opening the list of designated merchants for trade-in on the mobile phone application, the two chose several stores that were closer.

　　After leaving several merchants, Luan Maoxin found that it was also a solar water heater with 20 heating water pipes. The one I bought before was nearly 4,000 yuan. The new model only costs 3,000 yuan after subsidy, and the hot water reserves are more. It also adds infrared remote control, water temperature control and other functions.

　　"The manufacturing process of water heaters is more mature and advanced, with lower costs and lower product prices, but better quality." Salesman Wang Min told Luan Maoxin that every year, many new models are launched on the market, new functions are emerging one after another, and prices are becoming more and more affordable.

　　“Can it be recycled?”

　　The new water heater is installed in place soon, what should I do if the old ones are?

　　"Can it be recycled?" Luan Maoxin thought that the disassembled parts were full of rust and they might not be able to be reused; selling scrap iron, I don't know what the iron content of the fuselage is, and whether the scrap station can collect it.

　　"The pipes and water tanks have a lot of scale and the style is old." Ma Hongmin, the delivery and installation master sent by the store, scratched his head in embarrassment, "If you take it back, I really don't know what to do."

　　The "old collection" process of exchanging old for new is not mandatory, it mainly depends on the merchant's willingness to recycle. "Before, some farmers replaced the solar water heaters that could only be thrown into the garbage dump," said Chen Wenhao.

　　Ma Hongmin waved his hands repeatedly: "You can't dismantle it randomly. The core components of solar water heaters, such as heat collectors and vacuum heating pipes, will throw them away if they are not professionally dismantled, which will cause pollution."

　　"The recycling process still needs to be refined." Chen Wenhao thought, "For such difficult-to-treat home appliances, professional recycling companies should be introduced to handle them, and additional subsidies should be given."

　　In early March this year, many e-commerce platforms launched the special entrance for "Ningxia Home Appliances National Subsidy". When rural consumers trade olds for new home appliances online, they can simultaneously choose to collect olds. When e-commerce merchants send new machines to their doors, they can disassemble and recycle old machines for free.

　　More and more offline home appliance stores are also launching "delivery new and collect old" services. "Upload photos of old home appliances to the store's mini program, and you can wait for new home appliances to come and take away old home appliances." Li Li, sales manager of Yinchuan Xinbai Electric Appliances Shopping Mall, said that the recycled old machines will be transferred to professional recycling companies with disassembly qualifications.

　　"Let's go to teach everyone more"

　　"Are you a water heater? Are you willing to change it?" Neighbor Yang Tao came to see the fun.

　　"The subsidies are affordable now, so I might as well buy a new one." Luan Maoxin said happily.

　　"What subsidy? Why didn't I change the water heater last year?" Yang Tao, 55, widened his eyes.

　　Chen Wenhao took out his cell phone: "No, Lao Yang, as soon as the home appliance trade-in policy was implemented last year, we forwarded many publicity and interpretation links to the WeChat group of the second team."

　　Yang Tao stomped his feet in annoyance: "I didn't look closely. I thought solar water heaters were not considered home appliances."

　　Data shows that in 2024, Ningxia used 331 million yuan of home appliances for old-for-new subsidy funds to drive nearly 1.5 billion yuan of consumption, but the participation in old-for-new in rural areas is lower than that in urban areas. How can more farmers use new home appliances and good home appliances through old-for-new?

　　Policy publicity must keep up. "We usually read less news, and there may be many villagers who do not understand the subsidy policy." Luan Maoxin suggested to Chen Wenhao that in rural areas, online speaking is not enough, and the frequency of publicity policies for village-to-households should be increased, especially for the elderly.

　　All townships in Xixia District mobilized volunteers, grid workers, and township cadres to promote policies to help rural consumers become familiar with the old-for-new process. "We will teach you more on-site how to use mobile apps to get coupons and get subsidy prices." Chen Wenhao said that especially the more used home appliances in rural areas such as solar water heaters.

　　The bottlenecks in the exchange of old for new ones must also be opened up. The cost of collecting old logistics in remote areas is relatively high. Jiang Zhewen, deputy director of the Ningxia Development and Reform Commission, introduced that Ningxia will increase subsidies for collecting old logistics by seeking central government funds with rewards instead of subsidies. At the same time, it will focus on cracking down on illegal acts such as starting prices on the ground, colluding to raise prices, and false discounts to protect consumers' rights and interests. (This issue coordinated: Zhang Anyu reporter Zhang Wen)

[Editor in charge: Ran Xiaoning]