A government plan to build a huge kitchen waste processing station in Haidian district has received strong objections from residents, who claim at least 10,000 people in surrounding residential communities and schools will be affected by air pollution.

Nearby residents have joined a group protest online, calling for public attention, and the government to cancel the plan.

The project, planned to cover 19,500 square meters at Xierqi Beilu, will process 200 tons of waste per day. It is currently going through an environmental impact assessment.

The nearest residential community is only 200 meters away, say residents, and several kindergartens and a planned hospital will also be affected.

"It's really a shock as I can't imagine living close to a garbage plant and being bothered by smelly air every day," said Hu Bin, who plans to move into the nearby Lingxiu Xinguigu community this month.

There are nine residential communities and five schools, including three kindergartens within 1,000 meters of the station, Hu said.

The assessment is still underway, said Zhao Zhijie with the Environmental Impact Assessment Office at Peking University, assigned by the Haidian district Commission of City Administration and Environment late September.

They released a notice in nearby communities informing them of the project, and will collect feedback to give to the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, said Zhao.

Kitchen waste processing plants cannot be built within a 500-meter "safety distance" from residential compounds, according to a government draft regulation. However, with the draft pending its final approval, there is not yet a specific requirement for a safety distance, Zhao noted.

Haidian produces some 500 tons of kitchen waste per day, and having a processing station is necessary, said Li Fuxing with the commission.

"I see why residents are angry, but it's just like having a public toilet in a populated area; no one wants to live next to it, but they all need it," he said.

Air pollution caused by kitchen waste processing is not as bad as people think, said Ren Lianhai, expert of environmental sciences and engineering at Beijing Technology and Business University.

"It produces a smell that simply affects people's appetite," he said, explaining the major air emission is volatile fatty acid, a gas with a sour smell, but that is not poisonous.

The plan could be aborted if it fails the assessment, but it may also be relocated elsewhere in Haidian, Li said.