AlongtheoverlappinggreenmountainsoftheHangzhoucitysuburbsliesasecluded,garden-likepatchofland,wherestripsoflimpidwaterconvergeintoaspectacularsapphirefountainfilledwithkoicarpswimmingbelowlotusleaves.Iftheprotrudingcoolingtowerdidn鈥檛betrayitstrueidentity,onewouldthinkitwasaholidayvillageorscenicresort.Infact,itisthesiteofawaste-to-energyplant.
鈥淓veryday,roughly3,000tonsofdomesticgarbageistransportedbytruckstothefactoryfortreatment,accountingforonethirdofthetotalvolumegeneratedinHangzhou,鈥漵aidXiongJianping,GeneralManageroftheHangzhouJiufengwasteto-energyprojectrunbyEverbrightInternational.Aftersomementalmath,hecalculatedthatifnotreatmentmeasureshadbeentaken,garbagegeneratedbythecapitalofeastChina鈥檚ZhejiangProvincewouldhavefilledthecity鈥檚WestLakeinamerefiveyears.
鈥淚nfact,thefountainwaterintheparkisproducedfromwasteleachate,andalltheelectricityandwaterneededbythepowergenerationequipmentareself-produced,鈥漍iongsaid,addingthatthefactorygenerates390millionkWhofgreenelectricityeveryyear.
ScientistShaoZheru(thirdright)leadshisteaminthedevelopmentofwaste-to-energyequipmentCOURTESYPHOTOUphillbattle
Fouryearsagowhenthelocalgovernmentfirstannouncedthelocationofthewasteincinerationprojectandcontractedittoalocalcompanywithoutfullyinformingresidents,thesettingwasastarkcontrasttothepicturesquesceneoftoday.Thousandsofvillagersgatheredaroundthesitetoprotestandattemptedtoobstructitsconstructionbysmashingvehiclesandattackingenforcementofficers.
Tobreaktheimpasse,EverbrightInternational,headquarteredinHongKongandthelargestwaste-to-energyinvestorandoperatorinAsia,waschosentoreplacetheoriginalcontractorandtaskedwithcarryingouttheprojectwiththelocalgovernment.FromAugusttoOctober2014,morethan5,000villagerswereinvitedtovisitsimilarEverbrightprojectsinthecitiesofChangzhou,Suzhou,NanjingandJinanandrelatedcompensationmeasureswereunveiled.
鈥淟ocalresidents鈥檜nderstandingandsupportisamustforsmoothconstructionandoperation,鈥漵aidXiong.
WhentheprojectwascompletedandsettobeginrunninglastSeptember,about80representativesfromnearbyvillageswereinvitedtoameetinginthefactorytomakethefinaldecisions.Afterconsensuswasreached,thewasteincineratorswerefinallyignited.
AttheNationalConferenceoEcologicalEnvironmentProtectionheldinMay,ChinesePresidentXiJinpingreiteratedthatlucidwatersandlushmountainsareinvaluableassets,andsolidstepsmustbetakentopromotegreendevelopment.
ThisMarch,duringtheannualsessionofthe13thNationalCommitteeoftheChinesePeople鈥檚PoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC),LiXiaopeng,ChairmanofChinaEverbrightGroupandmemberofthe13thCPPCCNationalCommittee,submittedaproposalcallingforthepopularizationofarural-urbanwaste-to-energysystem,designedtoreducepollutionfromrandomcropburninginruralareasandcollectruralandurbanhouseholdwasteinanintegratedwayforpowergeneration.
Besiegedbywaste
Domesticgarbageismainlycomprisedofsolidwastegeneratedbypeople鈥檚dailylivesandeverydayneeds.AsurbanizationcontinuesinChina,theurbanpopulationalsocontinuestogrow.Bytheendof2017,thecountryhadanurbanpopulationof813.47million,anincreaseof20.49millionfromayearearlier,representinganurbanizationrateof58.52percent,accordingtostatisticsfromtheNationalBureauofStatistics.Moreurbanresidentsmeangreaterpressuresonlivingenvironments,especiallyforthedisposalofhouseholdgarbage.InChina,anurbanresidentgeneratesaroundonekilogramofhouseholdwasteonaverageeveryday,totalingnearly400milliontonsofhouseholdwasteayearacrossthecountry.
Therearethreeprincipalmethodstocarryoutthetreatmentofhouseholdwaste:thesanitarylandfill,incinerationandcompost.In2016,atotalof196.74milliontonsofurbanhouseholdwasteunderwenttreatment,accordingtoareportontheprospectofandinvestmentinhouseholdwastetreatmentreleasedbytheIndustryResearchInstituteofQianzhan,aBeijingbasedindustryconsultingserviceprovider.Landfill,incinerationandcomposttreatmentmadeup60percent,35percentand5percent,respectively.
Sincedomesticgarbagecontainsplentyoforganicmatter,itisahotbedforvariouspathogenicbacteriaandeasilydecomposesandproducesamalodoroussmell.Accordingtopublicstatistics,therearemorethan200citiesatriskofbeingsurroundedbywastelandfill,whilehalfofthemareoutofcontrolandnotundermanagement.
鈥淚fitisnotproperlyhandledinatimelyfashion,householdwastemaycauseairandwaterpollution,incubatefirehazards,doharmtoanimalnestsandresultinexcessivelandoccupation,鈥漵aidXiong.
Inordertopropelgarbageclassification,reductionandtreatment,theNationalDevelopmentandReformCommissionrecentlypublishedaguidelineoninnovatingandimprovingthepricingmechanismofgreendevelopment,whichrequiresestablishinganall-roundpricingsystemfordomesticwastedisposalby2020.
ChinaEverbrightGroupChairmanLiXiaopeng(center)inspectsawaste-to-energyplantinSanya,southChina鈥檚HainanProvince,onMay22COURTESYPHOTOAnirresistibletrend
Wherethereishumanactivity,thereisgarbage.Thegreenmanagementofhouseholdwasteisamajorchallengeonthepathtobuildingawell-offsociety,andgarbageincinerationpowergenerationisanimportantsolution,saidJiaFeng,DirectoroftheCenterforEnvironmentalEducationandCommunicationsoftheMinistryofEcologyandEnvironment.
Currently,whenagarbagetruckentersthefactory,itsweightischeckedbyawagonbalanceatthegate.Afterbeingunloadedintoavasttreatmentpond,thegarbageislefttofermentforaweek.Theatmosphericpressureinthepondislowerthanthatoutside,thuskeepingthesmellofrottinggarbagelockedwithinandsparingtheneighborhoodthestink.Oncefermentationhassignificantlyloweredthewatercontentofthegarbage,itisfedtoincinerators,wheregeneratedheatistransformedintoelectricitythroughsteamturbinegenerators.
Since2010,wasteincineratorshavebeensproutingupinChina,andsimultaneously,extensivepublicattentionhasbeenarousedbytheprosperingindustry,saidLiuJinghao,aseniorresearcherwiththeMinistryofHousingandRural-UrbanDevelopment.HealsonotedthatwasteincinerationtechnologyismoreadvancedinChinathanelsewhere.
TakeEverbrightInternationalforexample.Itfirstturnedtotheenvironmentalprotectionindustryin2003.Atthattime,Chinawasheavilydependentontheimportofoverseaswasteincinerationpowerequipment.
Yet,duetohigherwatercontent,Chinesehouseholdwastecouldn鈥檛beeffectivelytreatedandhadtobeburnedbyexpensiveforeign-madeequipmenttailoredmoretothegarbagegeneratedinWesterncountries.ThecompanydecidedtodevelopmoreefficientandeconomicaltechnologyandequipmenttomeettheneedsofChineseincinerators.
鈥淥verthecourseofequipmentresearchanddevelopment,pioneeringscientistsencounterednumerousobstaclesanddifficulties,鈥漵aidShaoZheru,chiefscientistatEverbrightInternational,wholedhisteamfromscratchin2004inadilapidatedshed.
Thecompanyhasnowdevelopedagratefurnacewhichcanprocess750to850tonsofwasteperdayandisexpectingtoleapupto1,000tonsperdayby2023.Thiswillmakeitthelargestandmostadvancedsystemintheworld.Inaddition,specialleachatetreatmenttechnologyhasbeendevelopedtodealwiththehighmoisturecontentofChinesehouseholdgarbage.
鈥淎slongasthetemperatureiskepthigherthan850degreesCelsiusandthefluegasstaysinthecombustionchamberforlongerthantwoseconds,thegenerateddioxincanbedecomposed.Moreover,gaspurificationsystemscanneutralizeandfiltergeneratedflyash,acidgasandheavymetal,鈥漵aidShao,notingthatallemissionindicatorsareuptotheEuro2010Standards.Atthebeginningofthisyear,ChinaEverbrightGroup鈥檚ChairmanLihighlightedthegoaloffurthercementingthecompany鈥檚corecompetitivenessandmarketstandingbyshoringupcomprehensivedevelopmentandleveraginggreenindustryfunds.
InexpandinggreenbusinessalongBeltandRoadroutes,Liinsistedthatanequalemphasisshouldbelaidonscale,qualityandeconomicbenefit.
鈥淩emarkablebreakthroughshavebeenmadeinareassuchaswaste-to-energy,watertreatment,biomassutilizationandequipmentmanufacturing,鈥漵aidLi,whonotedthattheseendeavorsaretargetedatbuildingEverbrightInternationalintoaglobalfrontrunnerintheeco-environmentalindustry.
Sofar,Everbrighthassignedover80wasteincinerationpowerprojectsscatteredthroughout13provinces,withroughly50projectsinoperationandtreatmentcapacitytotaling45,000tonsperday.Inaddition,itsoverseasbusinessfootprinthasalsobeenexpandedtoGermany,PolandandVietNam.
Abetterknowledgeofwasteincinerationcanhelpremovethewidespreadattitudeof鈥渘otinmybackyard.鈥滱fullconsiderationoflocalenvironmentalcapacity,thescientificcollectionofpublicopinion,animprovedsenseofgainfromgreendevelopmentandinformationtransparencyarealsoquitenecessary,Jianoted.
鈥淩esidentsacrossthecountrycancheckallthereal-timeemissionsdataofourprojectsonEverbrightInternational鈥檚websiteatanytime.Keepingthepublicfullyinformedwillhelpthemfeelmoresecure,鈥漵aidXiong.
TheHangzhouJiufengwaste-to-energyplantinJiufengVillage,YuhangDistrict,HangzhouCOURTESYPHOTOCopyeditedbyRebecaToledoCommentsto