Ye Lu would become very annoyed when people mistook her for a vender when she collected used batteries seven years ago.

"I was even scolded by some cleaners when I handed out environmental protection flashcards," the 17-year-old said.

But the Olympic torchbearer, who considers dust storms and spitting to be her "enemies", is glad times have changed.

"These days, people realize used batteries cause pollution if not properly disposed of, which makes my job much easier," she said. "But I've been racking my brain to figure out how to get more people to visit my blog and join our campaign."

Ye said she believed the youngsters, who are generally more environmentally aware, should not be shy about educating their elders about the "Green Olympics" - a point on which many of her colleagues agree.

"We initiate, show and tell so others will follow," Teng Luning, a Beijing-born city volunteer in her twenties, said.

Through the work of volunteers and TV celebrities, a growing number of Chinese have joined campaigns to lead greener and healthier lives.

The national ban on plastic bags cut their use in half, while the Beijing smoking ban was widely observed, even in the humblest of noodle restaurants.

"The environmental awareness of people around me has been improving," Ye said.

Her view was echoed by Zhang Xiwen, manager of the Beijing Coking Plant, which suspended operations and relocated 3,400 workers two years ago to help reduce smog in the area.

"Our plant was regarded as a breakthrough, because since it became operational in 1959, it reduced Beijing's domestic coal use by 20 million tons every year," the 55-year-old said.

"But from today's perspective, we were a major pollution source in urban Beijing before ceasing operations, and so we had become a real burden.

"So our closing down was justified in the historical process of Beijing's environmental campaign."

Beijing Coking Plant was relocated outside Beijing and replaced by new plants with advanced environmentally friendly technologies.

"In the new Tangshan facility, we operate bigger plants with better environmental facilities, and create less toxic emissions and waste," Zhang said.

Wu Zhonghua, director of a local car owners' society with 400,000 online members, said: "It may still take years to build an environmentally friendly society, but I think we are using the Olympics as the opportunity to increase awareness.

"More and more members of our group have fallen in love with carpooling, which helps us save both the planet and money. It's the right lifestyle to lead."