Beijing To Turn Garbage Into Power

Beijing plans to convert 40% of its rubbish into
energy via incineration, as part of plans to
develop new power sources and deal with landfill
problems, state press said May 21.

Four incinerators to be built in the capital will
have the capacity to burn up to 5,000 tons of
garbage daily when completed in five years, the
Beijing News reported. The four new plants will have
the capacity to generate 1,500 megawatts of
electricity, about the energy equivalent of a
modest-sized nuclear power plant.

The plan was tabled at an ongoing meeting of the
city's Communist Party and comes as the capital
is running out of areas to bury garbage with
existing landfills reaching capacity.

In five years, 40% of the capital's garbage will
be burned, 30% buried and the rest will be
treated and used to make fertilizer or other renewable
products, it said. Currently the city buries
about 90% of its garbage in landfills, it said.

The garbage burners will also be equipped with
clean technology to ensure that emissions meet
state requirements, the paper added.