Pollution
Rogue waste disposal hit with heavy fines
An aluminum alloy door and window maker that discharged waste water containing high levels of heavy metals has been ordered to pay nearly 400,000 yuan (US$58,000) for polluting the environment. This is one of five environmental civil public interest litigation cases brought by the procuratorate this year against criminal suspects.
Technology in farming is no pig in a poke
Officials have issued detailed guidelines designating localities close to the sea, to potable water sources and to big cities as “unsuitable for pig-raising.” Pig farms that fail to meet environmental standards have been forcibly shut down and a green tax was levied on “polluting” farms. And, effective in January, farms with a swine herd of 500 or more will be subject to an unspecified amount of tax unless they buy necessary equipment to clean up animal waste.
University students awarded for water protection solutions
Six groups of Chinese university students were awarded on Friday in Shanghai for their research and solutions in water protection in the LANXESS “Clean Water for Better Life” Research Competition. A group from Minzu University of China won the first prize with their solution to tackle pollution in Caohai Lake in southwest China's Guizhou Province. They developed a multi-level underground infiltration system to treat sewage.
Islanders are saying 'goodbye' to the stink and 'hello' to prosperity
Foul, stinking, black water still flows in Chongming District, but it should all be gone by the end of the year. And, by the end of next year, all heavily polluted watercourses on the island will have been improved. Of 1,595 waterways marked as black and malodorous in the district, 1,537 have been treated.
Energy
New Beijing airport to promote use of renewable energy
Renewable energy will account for over 10 percent of the total energy consumption of Beijing Daxing International Airport, which will combine the use of solar energy, earth energy with traditional energy sources. Solar photovoltaic systems will be installed on the roofs of the airport, including its car park buildings, business jet hangars and cargo areas. They are set to generate up to 6.1 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year.
China to build, upgrade 21,000 toilets for tourists in 2019
China plans to build or renovate about 21,000 toilets at tourist destinations next year. Advanced technologies have been used in the new toilets to improve their hygiene standards, save energy and water, and make them more accessible.
Solid waste
Sorting our trash doesn't sort out our trash problem
The target for garbage sorting in Shanghai was 40 percent this year, but the real rate is lagging. Close to 5,000 tons of wet trash were being sorted each day by the end of the third quarter, but city’s recycling capacity is just over 3,000 tons per day, exposing a clear gap between capacity and production. “To tackle the gap, we are working out subsidies for recycling wet trash at district level and are building new facilities,” said the director of the Environmental Sanitation Bureau.
Waste not, want not: All across Asia, cities find new ways to deal with garbage
Environmental experts and journalists from Asia recently aired their views about best practices in solid waste management and shared their insights into the localization of sustainable development goals (SDGs) at a forum in Fukuoka, Japan.