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Trash tour demonstrates city's efforts to clean up
By Shi Xiaohan |
May 19, 2011, Thursday
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THE fast urbanization process has posed many challenges to Hangzhou and overloaded waste management is one of them. As the city's major waste management company relying on landfill, Hangzhou Environment Group (HEG) feels the urgency more than any other. It launched a special tour to raise awareness of the need for trash reduction recently.
To the organizers' surprise, the tour became popular almost overnight. "According to our current capacity, newly registered visitors have to wait until June 2012 for a chance to 'travel with trash'," said Shi Yingnan, a public relations official for HEG.
Originally, HEG set up the tour out of its own urgent needs. "Public awareness of waste reduction is crucial for us to continue operating," Shi said.
Statistics from 2009 show that 5,000 to 6,000 tons of waste is disposed everyday in Hangzhou, around half of which is managed by HEG. "It is estimated that the waste in Hangzhou is increasing every year by 17 percent," said Shi. "However, with the acceleration of urbanization, the number could go even higher."
In 2007, the company started using the second landfill site in the valley of Tianziling Hill when the first site uphill was full. This is the last usable area for the company as well as in Hangzhou.
The company had estimated the new landfill site could be used for some 26 years when it opened. However based on a reassessment in 2009, the remaining capacity of the landfill site will be used up in eight to 10 years.
"That was when we realized we need to do whatever we can," said Shi.
The tour, operated every Wednesday and Friday, starts from a local community right after its waste has been collected in the morning. Visitors can see clearly how the sorted trash is transported separately.
"People are curious about where the trash goes after they have disposed of it," said Shi, "especially since they started trash sorting, as they want to know how their efforts make a difference in the end."
Hangzhou started a garbage-sorting campaign earlier last year, which is good news for HEG. "Sorting garbage helps people realize how much they throw away everyday is actually of use," said Shi. "We must do everything possible to help keep their environmentally friendly behavioral patterns."
The same concept is implemented in an extra-curriculum classroom along the tour where people can learn about low-carbon lifestyles and play garbage-sorting games on a touch screen. The classroom received 5,600 visitors on study tours last year.
Apart from the fun travelling and gaming, participants also face an "inconvenient truth" about the city's waste management on the tour.
The final station of the tour is Tianziling Ecological Park, which was built on the first landfill site after it was filled to capacity in 2007. The park offers a view of the second landfill site where half of Hangzhou's waste is buried every day. Visitors can see the immense scale of the landfill site while learning it can only continue serving for eight more years.
For most visitors, the tour is the first time they learn the shocking fact. "If only more people knew about this before they dispose of garbage," said a visitor.
"We don't mean to scare people," said Shi, "but we want to let people face the fact that the time of throwing as much trash away as they please will soon be over."
It needs more encouragement than frightening to let people make the change.
Apart from the scenic landfill-turned-ecological park, people are also taken to a trash-transfer station which used to be sticky and noisy. In 2009, HEG adopted the clean and direct waste-transportation system. Customized hybrid trucks and electric carts are used to reduce the odor and noise of waste collecting to a minimum. Today, not a single piece of trash can be found on the ground in the station.
"Except citizens in the neighborhood where the stations are located, not many people know about the changes that have happened here," said Shi. "That's why we add this sight to the tour to let people know that trash is no longer a headache for Hangzhou's clean image."
Visitors are also taken to a methane power-generation plant and water-treatment factory using by-products of waste treatment on the way. The ecological park is irrigated by the purified water and the electric power generated everyday could meet the demand of some 8,000 households.
"We hope the visitors can take another look at what they are throwing away after the tour," said Shi, "after all, it is the first step toward waste reduction."
The tour is free. If you are interested, you could call (0571) 8812-3257.
To the organizers' surprise, the tour became popular almost overnight. "According to our current capacity, newly registered visitors have to wait until June 2012 for a chance to 'travel with trash'," said Shi Yingnan, a public relations official for HEG.
Originally, HEG set up the tour out of its own urgent needs. "Public awareness of waste reduction is crucial for us to continue operating," Shi said.
Statistics from 2009 show that 5,000 to 6,000 tons of waste is disposed everyday in Hangzhou, around half of which is managed by HEG. "It is estimated that the waste in Hangzhou is increasing every year by 17 percent," said Shi. "However, with the acceleration of urbanization, the number could go even higher."
In 2007, the company started using the second landfill site in the valley of Tianziling Hill when the first site uphill was full. This is the last usable area for the company as well as in Hangzhou.
The company had estimated the new landfill site could be used for some 26 years when it opened. However based on a reassessment in 2009, the remaining capacity of the landfill site will be used up in eight to 10 years.
"That was when we realized we need to do whatever we can," said Shi.
The tour, operated every Wednesday and Friday, starts from a local community right after its waste has been collected in the morning. Visitors can see clearly how the sorted trash is transported separately.
"People are curious about where the trash goes after they have disposed of it," said Shi, "especially since they started trash sorting, as they want to know how their efforts make a difference in the end."
Hangzhou started a garbage-sorting campaign earlier last year, which is good news for HEG. "Sorting garbage helps people realize how much they throw away everyday is actually of use," said Shi. "We must do everything possible to help keep their environmentally friendly behavioral patterns."
The same concept is implemented in an extra-curriculum classroom along the tour where people can learn about low-carbon lifestyles and play garbage-sorting games on a touch screen. The classroom received 5,600 visitors on study tours last year.
Apart from the fun travelling and gaming, participants also face an "inconvenient truth" about the city's waste management on the tour.
The final station of the tour is Tianziling Ecological Park, which was built on the first landfill site after it was filled to capacity in 2007. The park offers a view of the second landfill site where half of Hangzhou's waste is buried every day. Visitors can see the immense scale of the landfill site while learning it can only continue serving for eight more years.
For most visitors, the tour is the first time they learn the shocking fact. "If only more people knew about this before they dispose of garbage," said a visitor.
"We don't mean to scare people," said Shi, "but we want to let people face the fact that the time of throwing as much trash away as they please will soon be over."
It needs more encouragement than frightening to let people make the change.
Apart from the scenic landfill-turned-ecological park, people are also taken to a trash-transfer station which used to be sticky and noisy. In 2009, HEG adopted the clean and direct waste-transportation system. Customized hybrid trucks and electric carts are used to reduce the odor and noise of waste collecting to a minimum. Today, not a single piece of trash can be found on the ground in the station.
"Except citizens in the neighborhood where the stations are located, not many people know about the changes that have happened here," said Shi. "That's why we add this sight to the tour to let people know that trash is no longer a headache for Hangzhou's clean image."
Visitors are also taken to a methane power-generation plant and water-treatment factory using by-products of waste treatment on the way. The ecological park is irrigated by the purified water and the electric power generated everyday could meet the demand of some 8,000 households.
"We hope the visitors can take another look at what they are throwing away after the tour," said Shi, "after all, it is the first step toward waste reduction."
The tour is free. If you are interested, you could call (0571) 8812-3257.
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