The government in Puning, South China's Guangdong Province announced on Friday that it had dissuaded more than 100 residents from illegally gathering in front of the local government building to stage a protest against a garbage disposal project.

"Some residents have been stirred to demonstrate against a local garbage disposal project recently … more than 150 protesters broke into two local schools to incite and threaten teachers and students on Thursday. They broke windows and broadcast facilities in one school, and hurt some students and teachers," read an statement on the official website of the Puning government.

The protesters besieged police officers and smashed their cars when local police were called to the scene, it said. 

The statement added that the security bureau in Puning mobilized police officers to quiet the incident.

Nanfang Daily reported in February 2014 that the project will launch a waste incineration power station in Puning.

Puning government said in the statement that the garbage project has adopted advanced technology, and it vowed to dismiss residents' doubts.

"The garbage disposal project will more or less pollute the surrounding environment. Many residents don't trust the government even though these projects have strict pollution control regulations," Liu Jianguo, a professor from the School of Environment at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Friday.

The projects are in the public interest and have to be carried out, said Liu.

This is not the first protest against similar projects. More than 3,000 residents from Kunming, Yunnan Province gathered in a square in 2013 to protest against oil refinery and paraxylene projects.