Zhao, speaking at an international conference in Guangzhou on Monday, admitted China lags behind in its attempts to reduce urban garbage, dealing with solid waste and waste decontamination.

With economic development, he said, Chinese cities will become increasingly crowded and turn out 8 percent more garbage annually.

Of the 100 million tons or so of rubbish China produced last year, about 80 percent was simply piled up or buried, causing serious environmental contamination in many cities, said Yang Luyu, chief of the urban construction department under the Ministry of Construction.

"The conference is not only an industrial gathering, but also reflects China's concerns about environmental protection and its determination to develop a modern waste disposal system," Yang said.

The three-day International Conference on the Treatment of Urban Solid Waste, which ends today, has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Construction, Guangzhou municipal government, China Urban Environmental Hygiene Association, and the International Solid Waste Association.

Foreign experts from Britain, France, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Turkey, South Korea and Thailand are discussing with their Chinese counterparts the most effective solution to the problems of urban garbage.

Guangzhou, a city once overwhelmed by the increasing volume of garbage, was selected as the conference host because of its successful waste treatment efforts, said Liang Jiachi, head of the Guangzhou Environmental Hygiene Bureau.

To handle its daily production of 4,300 tons of garbage, the city uses advanced technology, including a garbage methane power plant in Datianshan and a garbage burning power plant in Likeng.

Early last month, the country's first mechanized center for garbage classification was formally put into operation in Guangzhou.

This center sorts out waste which is then sent on to other places to be recycled or disposed of.

In Xingfeng, another garbage storage plant is under construction which could become a leader in the country by employing a system that prevents garbage from polluting groundwater.

(China Daily 05/22/2001)