Beijing facing 'waste crisis'

The volume of waste being produced in China's capital Beijing could lead to a crisis in the future, it has been suggested.

Speaking to the China Daily, government representative Guo Weidong said efforts are currently being made to cut down on the amount of garbage being produced and the construction of new sanitary landfill sites has been speeded up.

However, Mr Weidong admitted that waste plants around the city are already being put under pressure, with Beijing producing around 18,000 tonnes of waste every day.

Rubbish levels are increasing by around eight per cent annually, leading to fears that the city's current system could soon be overwhelmed.

Nie Yongfeng of Tsinghua University said the problem must be dealt with by incineration.

"If waste incineration is not applied immediately, garbage disposal will become a huge problem in the near future," he told the news source.

Beijing currently has a population exceeding 17 million.

Written by Lauren Steadman