More recycling plants to open this year

Two recycling plants for wet trash and construction garbage are due to start working in Songjiang District at the end of the year.

They are part of the Shanghai Tianma Household Waste Treatment and Utilization Center, which incinerates more than 2,000 tons of dry garbage daily to generate power.

With a total investment of 1 billion yuan (US$147 million), the Tianma Jingmai ecological park hosting the two plants will also house the second phase of a household garbage treatment plant.

Construction is in full swing, and the anaerobic tanks are taking shape.

Wood, plastics and metals will be separated from construction garbage and be crushed and screened for recycling at the center.

About 2,400 tons of dry trash produced in Songjiang and Qingpu districts are incinerated daily after dehydration fermentation of three to five days, and some slag produced during the process will be transported to Laogang and used as material for bricks in Laogang in the Pudong New Area, which hosts the city's largest garbage disposal facility.

Leakage will be collected via pipes, with exhaust gas treated to avoid further pollution.

During incineration, harmful substances such as dioxine will be eliminated. In addition, the gas produced during incineration will be emitted only after purification and dust elimination to prevent pollution.

The pollutant index is upgraded every five seconds and will be transmitted to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China.

The garbage treated can generate 960,000 kilowatt-hour of electricity daily and can satisfy the power demand of 160,000 households.

The trash quality improved after July 1 when Shanghai's new garbage management regulations came into effect, as the waste is "drier," leading to a higher calorific value and power generation capacity, the center operator said.