Amidst the rumble of machines, decaying rubbish has been compressed with the aid of new technical processes to create a new form of environmentally friendly concrete. The "concrete" was then paved for constructing the Huqingping Expressway. Journalists saw an image of the rotten turned into the miraculous, on the "Trash Concrete Foundation Expressway" construction site on Monday. Even though the test section of the expressway is only 100 meters, Shanghai is still managing to break through the ring of "garbage walls" surrounding the city.

Statistic shows that the city generates 14,000 tons of refuse every day. About 10 percent of rubbish which can't be buried in authorized landfills just piles up on vacant rural tracts due to poor waste disposal facilities. There are 220 garbage depositaries around the city, and 9 hills of rubbish which continue to pile up to areas greater than 10 mu (1.67 acres). As a result Shanghai is becoming a city surrounded by garbage.

The "trash concrete" project is an innovative trial aimed at finding out how to resolve the dilemma of "garbage hills." Officials from Hong Kong Aton (Holdings) Ltd., the projects technical supporters, told journalists that the technology being used is now patented in China.

Using advanced environmentally friendly technology not only resolves the garbage problem, but also saves resources and reduces the cost associated with the project.

(China.org.cn, translated by Wu Nanlan, November 13, 2002)