Int'l Congress on Urban Solid Waste Recycling Closes in GuangzhouAn international congress on municipal solid waste treatment and recycling came to a close Tuesday in Guangzhou, one of south China's major gates to the outside world.More than 200 people from countries and regions including the United States, France and Japan attended the three-day conference and exchanged views on urban trash treatment and recycling in the 21st century. With a population of 1.3 billion, China produces more than 100 million tons of trash in cities annually, and the volume has been increasing at an annual growth rate of eight percent. In 1999, some 114 million tons of trash were collected in the country's 668 cities, where there are only 696 trash treatment plants. While urging the international community to join hands to increase trash treatment and create a human living environment wherein 63.4 percent of trash is treated, Zhao Baojiang, deputy Minister of Construction, pledged that in the forthcoming five years, China would intensify efforts to harness air, water, trash and noise pollution in cities by introducing a range of new measures, including levying trash treatment fees, importing foreign capital, advanced technology, equipment and experience to advance trash treatment and recycling. The congress was jointly held by the Chinese Ministry of Construction, Guangzhou City Government, China Urban Environment and Hygiene Association and the International Solid Waste Association. |
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