Attendees of off-road gathering abandon garbage in desert

Attendees of an off-road gathering in the Tengger Desert in Inner Mongolia buried a quantity of garbage in the sand over the National Day holiday, posing a serious threat to the surrounding environment, according to a Weibo user. More than 100 sanitation workers have since been deployed to find and remove the garbage.

According to Mr. Fang, who attended the gathering, anywhere from 200,000 to 300,000 people were present at the event, which was sponsored by an automobile website. The organizer set up a tent area for the attendees.

"The area was quite large, and garbage bins were not easy to find. Some people took their garbage with them when they left, but those who lacked environmental awareness just left garbage at the site," Mr. Fang explained.

According to a worker from the local environmental protection bureau, the event began on Oct. 3 and lasted four to five days. The bureau has arranged for 100 sanitation workers to remove the garbage.