Trash separation is the talk of the town in China these days as the government unveils a list of 46 "pilot cities" to build up a garbage sorting and processing system by 2020.
Mandatory schemes on household garbage sorting have already emerged in metropolises like Shanghai in order to improve its recycling rates.
Moreover, an investment of 21.3 billion yuan (about 3.1 billion U.S. dollars) will be allocated to speed up building the recycling system, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
Many European enterprises, with their advanced technology and rich experience, have seen enormous markets and are eyeing a share in China's ongoing green efforts.
DRIVE TO BUILD ECO-CITIES
Germany's ALBA group has brought one of its specialities to the southern Chinese city of Jieyang in Guangdong Province.
A complicated yet precise ingenuity was seen at one garbage processing plant.
After removing heavy metals, plastics, harmful waste, sand, rocks, water, step by step, recyclable substances were taken out, smashed and reshaped to fuel blocks.
"The unique technology turns household garbage into green fuel," said Chang Guang, project manager for the garbage processing plant, a joint venture of ALBA Group, Zhongde Metal Group and Guangdong Rising Assets Management Co., Ltd.
Chang said calorific value of the fuel block equals that of brown coal and can be used as alternative fuel in power or cement plants.
"It is more environmentally friendly. Compared to burning coals, our fuel block emits about 70 percent less CO2," Chang added.
The project has received support from the local government, as dealing with mountains of garbage has always been a headache for many cities including Jieyang.
The daily total volume of garbage in the mid-sized Chinese city has rocketed from 600 tons in 2005 to 1,500 tons in 2018.
The plant, which started its test run in 2018, will be capable of handling 1,000 tons of garbage per day after completing its first phase of construction and 2,000 tons after the second phase.
