China halts incinerator project after violent protests

China has backed down from a move to build a waste incinerator in eastern Hangzhou city after the plan drew public wrath and protests against it turned violent, injuring dozens of demonstrators and policemen.
The plant will not be built without public support and before going through the legal process, Xu Wenguang, head of the city's ruling Communist Party said.
With the public becoming increasingly critical of mounting pollution and health hazards from industry, China has been seeing a rise in environment-related protests.
Residents in proximity to the site fear the project may well be a health hazard and add to pollution.

Thousands of people resorted to rare protests yesterday blocking main highways. State-run Xinhua news agency said dozens were injured in clashes between police and protesters.
More than 30 cars were overturned. The protesters set two police cars on fire and smashed another four.

Today protesters had left the highway but a section of the highway was still closed, the report said.
The district authorities have announced it will listen to public opinion and invite residents to participate in every stage of the project's preliminary procedures, Xu said.
All these efforts are to ensure the public's right to know and participate, he said.

The government understands the concerns, but it faces a dilemma. The existing four incinerators in the city cannot keep up with garbage production, the Yuhang district government said.
The city has to bury more than 5,000 tonnes of landfill waste, much more than the processing capacity of its existing incinerators.
This has a huge impact on the environment, and the bearing capacity of the refuse landfill is less than six years, the government said.
The planned new incinerator is the most feasible and effective means to ease the city's garbage quantity and free it from its "garbage siege" dilemma, it said.

The government has also promised to use the most advanced equipment and facilities for the project.
To date, all operations related to the project at the Jiufeng mine lot have been stopped, the report said.