Land laid waste by coal is reborn as cultural garden

Transforming waste piles into gardens is just one of the measures to deal with solid waste. Other major approaches include recycling and processing into construction materials, which transformed over 123 million tons of waste last year.

For example, 24.6 million tons, or 65 percent, of fly ash — mainly from coal-fired power plants — was used to make construction materials such as bricks and cement, said Zhang Zhanxiang, deputy director of the Shanxi Economic and Information Committee.

He added that 17 million tons, or 84 percent, of the slag — a byproduct of the smelting process at iron and steel plants — was processed and added to cement and other construction materials.

But the plants processing solid waste face problems such as low profits, a long wait for a return on initial investment and a lack of development momentum, making people reluctant to invest, according to the economic committee.

“No matter what we face, the controls on solid waste pollution will not be relaxed,” the vice-governor said, adding that efforts to improve the environment will be stepped up because of increased attention from the public and the central government.

The State Council released a guideline on Sept 11 supporting the economic transformation of Shanxi. It states that by 2020, coal-related industries, including mining and rough cutting, will be reduced and strategic emerging industries will be increased with more investment in research.

It means the traditional coal industries — former economic pillars — will contribute less to the economy, while clean production is encouraged.

Shanxi will see an improving economic structure, which will provide residents with a better environment, He added.