Workers Daily: 100,000 tons of sludge buried is to take environmental protection as a joke

According to the "China Youth Daily" reported on September 7, Suining, Sichuan Province, was criticized by the Central Environmental Protection Inspection Group for allowing enterprises to illegally dispose of sludge for a long time. Since 2015, a company in Suining, Sichuan Province, has been complained about 14 times by the masses for illegally dumping and landfilling sludge, and the local government not only ignored it, but also once lied that the problems reflected by the masses were not true. As of the end of August this year, more than 80,000 tons of illegally dumped sludge had not been safely disposed of.

The company concerned claimed to use solid organic waste such as domestic sludge, crop straw, livestock and poultry manure as raw materials, and used a specific method to dispose of domestic sludge, and designed to consume 50,000 tons of domestic sludge per year. But in fact, the company not only deals with domestic sludge, but also receives and treats industrial sludge and industrial solids without the relevant capabilities, and even conducts business across cities. What is even more infuriating is that the so-called treatment of the company involved is to directly dump and landfill the sludge in the name of "soil improvement".

Illegal disposal of hazardous wastes such as sludge is undoubtedly to earn black money at the cost of destroying the ecological environment. The sludge produced by the treatment of domestic sewage usually does not have dangerous characteristics and belongs to the general solid waste, but it also has a certain degree of pollution. The sludge produced by the treatment of industrial sewage often has dangerous characteristics and strong pollution, and should be treated harmlessly first, and then reused, isolated and landfilled or incinerated. No matter what kind of sludge, its treatment method should be carried out in strict accordance with the relevant requirements and standards, direct dumping, landfill, is undoubtedly to take the health of the people and the ecological environment as a joke - the report shows that the company directly landed the sludge in the surrounding plot soil, copper and zinc content exceeded the standard, the area of the polluted plot reached 193.9 acres, of which 115.4 acres of basic farmland.

It is thought-provoking that since 2015, the public has complained about the company's direct landfill of sludge 14 times, but there has been no effective response. This not only reflects the inaction and chaotic behavior of relevant local departments, and the serious lack of supervision, but also reflects the problems of formalism, bureaucracy and other work styles. Such laissez-faire problems are intensifying, and it is difficult for anyone to believe that there is no special relationship between the relevant departments and the enterprises involved.

In a way, this case has lifted the lid on the problem of harmlessness and reduction of sludge in the country. With the acceleration of the industrialization process and the continuous advancement of urbanization, the construction of urban pipe networks and urban and rural sewage treatment plants in large quantities, the amount of sludge generated is also increasing, and the harmless disposal of sludge has become a common problem faced by all localities. Some companies may see a business opportunity in this. All localities must stand on a public stand, have the responsibility to guard the land, resolutely cut off the chain of black interests, and protect the blue sky and pure land for the people.

Source: Workers Daily