The Burning Question

　　Waste incinerators， efficient at garbage disposal， are met with a skeptical public

　　Once a week， on every Saturday since July 10， the Guangzhou No.1 Resource Thermo Power Plant in south China’s Guangdong Province opens its door to visitors. While most thermal power plants in China are coal-fired， this plant burns a more unusual fuel—municipal waste.

　　Located in Yongxing Village， Baiyun District of Guangzhou， the plant—also known as the Likeng Waste Incinerator—is one of seven solid waste incinerators that have and will be built in the capital city of Guangdong. The first phase of the plant was put into use in January 2006 and can dispose of 1，040 tons of waste a day. The second phase， which has been in operation since June 2013， can handle 2，250 tons daily.

　　Through the glass windows on the fourth floor of the plant’s newer facility， visitors can observe garbage being loaded into the storage tank and then fed into the furnace.

　　Waste dumped into the storage tank is left to sit for several days to give it time to dry out and ferment. Methane and other combustible gases generated during the process are used by the furnace as fuel， according to Bai Wen， General Manager of Guangzhou-based Grantop Group， which owns the power plant.

　　Bai said that because of methane， the garbage can burn without adding any agents to aid the combustion. Furthermore， due to clever engineering that creates negative pressure within the storage tank， no smells made by the fermenting garbage are able to escape.

　　Statistics from the plant show that incinerating waste can reduce the volume of garbage by as much as 95 percent while the plant can simultaneously generate electricity for more than 100，000 households a year.

　　Lu Shengliang， Vice General Manager of the Grantop Group， said that treated leachate is recycled and used to provide water for flowers and grass， and even for the carp pond at the plant， while slag is made into environment-friendly bricks and used for roads and construction.

　　Misleading reputation

　　Experts and officials participating in a forum on environmental protection in Beijing on May 17 agreed that incineration is the future of garbage disposal. The China Sciences Group and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Graduate Education Foundation hosted the forum jointly.

　　Statistics released at the forum show that at present， two thirds of Chinese cities are surrounded by landfills， while one quarter of these cities no longer have any space for new landfills. With China continuing to undergo urbanization， municipal garbage is projected to grow by 8-10 percent annually.

　　At the forum， it was revealed that 20 percent of municipal garbage in China is disposed of through incineration， whereas in developed countries， the ratio can exceed 70 percent.

　　The government is encouraging waste incineration. In December 2012， the State Council issued a five-year plan on the construction of municipal waste disposal facilities. According to the plan， incinerated garbage is predicted to account for 35 percent of treated municipal garbage nationwide by 2015， and in economically developed eastern regions， the percentage is expected to reach 48 percent.

　　China currently has 178 municipal waste incineration power plants， with a combined daily capacity of 156，000 tons， said Jiang Jiahua， a researcher with the Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences. Most of these plants are located in economically developed areas and large cities.

　　Although garbage incinerators are needed， people generally do not want them built near their homes for fear of toxic emissions. One particularly troubling byproduct of the trash burning process is dioxin， a family of toxic gases that can cause a number of ailments， including immune system deficiencies and cancer. In recent years， strong public objection has forced several planned garbage incinerators to be abandoned.

　　On May 10， thousands of people took to the streets in Yuhang District of Hangzhou， east China’s Zhejiang Province， to protest against a garbage incinerator planned in the area. The facility was expected to be the largest in Asia upon its completion， with an ablility to burn around one third of the garbage generated in Hangzhou.

　　The Hangzhou Municipal Government said that 10 protestors and 29 police officers were injured in the incident. Police detained 53 individuals on charges of disturbing public order， provoking trouble and obstructing public functions.

　　The government of Yuhang District announced on May 11 that they would halt construction of the plant， which is still in the planning phase， until it “gains public support and legal approval.”

　　Hangzhou produces a daily average of 8，400 tons of solid waste， of which 5，400 tons are buried in the largest landfill in the city. Nonetheless， the landfill will be full in just four years， said Zhang Shukong， Deputy Director of the Solid Waste Center of the Hangzhou Municipal Commission of City Administration.

　　Currently， the city has four garbage incinerators， which are all operating at full capacity. Zhang stressed that building new treatment facilities is necessary.

　　In January 2011， Beijing’s Haidian District Government also gave up a plan to build an incinerator in Liulitun.

　　After the plan was unveiled in 2006， it encountered four years of strong resistance from local residents concerned about health hazards posed by emissions from incineration. They petitioned to the national environment watchdog and gathered more than 10，000 signatures to protest against the project， objecting that the proposed incinerator was to be located only 1km from an important drinking water source and close to a residential area.

　　Experts have stated that garbage incineration is not as risky as the public have perceived since most dioxins are destroyed when the furnace temperature exceeds 850 degrees Celsius.

　　Lu said that when the Guangzhou No.1 Resource Thermo Power Plant was under construction， residents in the vicinity were also worried about pollution from dioxins. Monitoring of emissions from the past year of operation shows that as long as the furnace temperature is above 850 degrees Celsius， dioxins are destroyed within two seconds， and the emissions can meet EU2000 standards.

　　According to Nie Yongfeng， a professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Environment， incineration is currently the best available garbage disposal technology. He said that although China allows existing incinerators to emit 10 times as much dioxins as the EU standards， the amount is still within the safe intake level specified by the World Health Organization.

　　On May 16， the Chinese Government released new standards for pollution control regarding municipal waste incineration. Since July 1， new garbage incinerators are required to meet the new standards whereas those already in operation are required to meet the new standards by 2016. The new standard for dioxin emission is as stringent as the EU2000 standards that the Guangzhou plant meets.

　　Enhancing transparency

　　Researcher Jiang with the Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences said that the public are opposed to garbage incinerators partly out of their distrust in the government’s ability to supervise incinerators and ensure their compliance with standards.

　　In addition to dioxin， incinerators also discharge other pollutants such as sulfur oxide， nitrogen oxide and hydrogen chloride as well as ash， said Tian Qian， an official of Beijing-based environmental NGO Friends of Nature. If hazardous waste is not treated properly， they will pose severe environmental risks， she said.

　　Cen Kefa， an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering， revealed that at present， dioxin emissions are not monitored in real time， but instead measured around once a year. He recommended introducing online dioxide monitoring technology to ensure incinerators comply with emission standards.

　　In 2012， Wuhu Ecological Center， an environmental NGO based in east China’s Anhui Province， requested environmental authorities to disclose emission monitoring data of 122 solid waste incinerators all over the country. But the center was only able to get data for one third of these incinerators， and dioxin emission data for only 10 percent of the total.

　　When asked to comment on the anti-incinerator protest in Hangzhou at a press conference held on June 4， Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Li Ganjie admitted that some garbage incinerator projects ended in disturbances due to poor planning， rule violations during construction， or a lack of transparency and public participation. He said that failure to answer the public’s questions in time would further increase their doubt and distrust.

　　Li said that the government and relevant companies should carefully study local environmental carrying capacity， choose appropriate sites， disclose all information and receive public supervision.

　　The Guangzhou Municipal Government has hired 14 residents near the Guangzhou No.1 Resource Thermo Power Plant to monitor its emissions， Lu said. The government has equipped the supervisors with cameras， trained them and given them permits to enter the plant at any time. They are expected to report anomalies and can take samples and invite qualified third-party organizations to test the samples.

　　An electronic screen at the plant’s gate displays updated data on a number of pollutants such as hydrogen chloride， sulfur dioxide， carbon monoxide， nitric oxide and soot. In an effort to boost transparency and enhance public understanding of waste incineration， the waste incinerator also opens its doors regularly to members of the general public.

　　By Wang Hairong