Waste treatment center completes first year of operations

The second phase of the Laogang Renewable Resources Recycling Center in Shanghai marked its first year of operations on July 1.

Its construction was to deal with the ever-growing waste treatment demand posed by the city, which produced about 28,000 metric ton domestic waste a day.

Measuring 188,600 square meters, the recycling center is the largest domestic waste treatment facility in the world, with eight incineration furnaces that can burn around 10,000 metric tons of waste per day.

At full capacity, the center can generate 5 gigawatt hours of electricity a day.

The facility, which is operated remotely, also has solar panels that can produce 2 gigawatt hours of electricity a year.

To reduce the amount of trash, Shanghai has also enacted a municipal legislation on waste management last year, which include compulsory trash sorting for every business and household.

The enforcement of the legislation proved to be a success, as the total amount of domestic waste that need to be burned or dumped into landfill has gone down, while kitchen waste and recyclables that can be recycled went up.

Zhu Siliu, the general manager of the center in Laogang, said trash sorting program has resulted in the higher efficiency and stability of the incinerator.