Illegal dumpers of building-site waste beware - the city of
Shanghai is on the case, and you will be prosecuted.
Shanghai's Public Sanitation Bureau was spurred into action this
week following the blatant dumping on Tuesday of more than 200 tons
of construction dirt on downtown Anyuan Road.
Bureau officials will swoop on city construction sites,
targeting companies that hire illegal waste-transport trucks or
engage in the illicit disposal of trash. "To prevent similar cases
is more effective than punishing them after the event," said Chen
Wencai, a bureau director.
The huge amount of construction mud was found on Anyuan Road, at
the junction of Jing'an and Putuo districts, in the early hours of
Tuesday.
The load of earth occupied half the width of the road -- and
caused traffic chaos.
Officials were on hand soon after the incident and had to call
in eight heavy trucks to move the mud - a laborious and timely
process.
"All the mud was cleared out by Wednesday afternoon," said an
Anyuan Road grocery store owner.
Liu Weiguang, a bureau spokesman, said such a large-scale
illegal dumping had not occurred for at least eight years.
Traffic cameras captured pictures of two unlicensed waste trucks
on Anyuan Road about 3am on Tuesday. They are believed to have been
hired by a site in Baoshan District.
"Currently we can't name the company, nor punish it, due to the
lack of other strong evidence," Chen said.
Once the company is caught, it faces a 40,000 yuan (US$5,176)
fine.
To better manage waste transport and disposal, the bureau late
last year began to equip legal trucks with GPS systems.
"The city has about 2,000 legal trucks engaged in the
waste-transport business," said Liu. "Since the cost of GPS is
huge, only a small percentage has been upgraded so far."
Liu said legitimate drivers are being priced out of the market
by unscrupulous construction companies that opt for cheaper
operators.
(Shanghai Daily March 30, 2007)
