Appeal to halt illegal trash burning

Residents at a compound in Chaoyang district have complained that local authorities have done nothing to investigate why garbage is being illegally burnt on land only one kilometer from their homes.

The residents of Fuli Youyicheng compound in Chaoyang told the Global Times Wednesday that they have been complaining to the authorities, both local and municipal, about the smell of the burning trash for over six months, but so far no one has responded to their grievances.

Because of the lack of response, they have turned to the media and a local environmental NGO to try to get a resolution.　

The residents allege that people are dumping the trash from trucks on two plots of vacant land which lie just over the border in Tongzhou district, and it is regularly burnt at night.

Lan Hui, a resident of Fuli You Yicheng, told the Global Times that she can often smell an awful stench of burning plastic, which gets into her home at night through the open windows.

"Other residents said that it was like this even before I moved here two years ago," she said.

"But the situation has been far worse this summer till now, when the unbearable reek of garbage-burning stinks out our compound and the surrounding areas almost every night," said Lan.

Many residents are suffering from side-effects, said Lan, including sore throats or sinus problems.

"There are many children in our compound and their health condition might be affected even more severely as a result of the burning," she noted.

Another resident surnamed Zhao, said that the residents got in touch with Chaoyang environmental protection bureau, but they were told to approach the sanitation bureau instead, since they are not responsible for this.

"We contacted the Commission of City Administration and Environment of Chaoyang district, which the sanitation bureau comes under, but they've done nothing yet," Lan said.

A female media officer, surnamed Shan, from Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment told the Global Times that although dealing with cleaning up garbage is their responsibility, it has not received any complaints so far.　

"But once we receive this complaint, we will surely clean up the burnt garbage," she said.

According to China's Law on the Prevention of Air Pollution, burning garbage in densely populated areas is illegal.

The vacant land comes under the jurisdiction of Taihu township, in Tongzhou. The township government promised the residents several times they would deal with the issue, although offering no specifics as to their action, said Zhao.

When the Global Times arrived at the site on Wednesday, the ground was littered with garbage, although an attempt had been made to bury it.

Taihu township had blocked the entrance to the land with a pile of earth on Tuesday, said Zhao, however, there were tire tracks indicating that trucks had driven over it within a day. This had happened several times, he said.

There was no one at the vacant land on Wednesday afternoon.

"So far, we don't know who has been dumping the garbage and who is burning it," Zhao said.

The residents investigated themselves where the burning was being done, with no official help.　

"Finding where the garbage comes from is the key solution," Zhao said.

Environmental protection NGO Green Beagle is supporting the residents in their efforts to halt the burning, said employee Wang Qiuxia.

Green Beagle has given the residents an air quality detector to do testing at night.

"We'll get in touch with some universities to test what harmful substances are in the air," she said.

"Meanwhile, we'll gather evidence of the garbage-burning and its negative effects, so we can report it to the relevant authorities later on," she said.