Photo: Screenshot of a financial investigation program by CCTV News

A joint investigation team composed of various departments has been launched in Pingxiang, East China’s Jiangxi Province, while the relevant rectification work has been deployed in Xiangtan, Central China’s Hunan Province, after a financial investigation program by CCTV News reported on Sunday that there were illegal storage and landfill of household waste, construction waste, and even industrial solid waste containing hazardous components, in certain areas of Hunan and Jiangxi. 
 
On Sunday night, the CCTV program reported issues related to the handling of industrial solid waste, construction waste, and municipal waste in Xiangdong district and Anyuan district in Pingxiang. A joint investigation team composed of departments comprising departments of ecological environment, urban management, housing construction, public security, and discipline inspection has been launched to investigate and address the reported problems, according to a statement released by the Pingxiang authorities on Monday. 

At the same time, a work plan will be formulated to conduct a thorough inspection of the problems related to industrial solid waste, construction waste, and household waste throughout the city, and to carry out special rectification efforts. Measures will be formulated in response to the shortcomings and weak links identified during the special rectification, further improving and standardizing long-term regulatory mechanisms, according to the statement.

In Xiangdong district of Pingxiang, Jiangxi Province, some residents have reported that since 2021, an illegal waste dumping site was established in the Yangjiatian area without following the necessary approval procedures or implementing pollution prevention measures. This has resulted in the formation of a “mountain” over 10 meters high, CCTV News reported.

In Shuizhuwan village, Xiangtan, Hunan Province, over 10 piles of construction waste were found carelessly dumped along village roads. CCTV News reported visible debris included cement blocks, red bricks, gypsum boards, tiles, plastic, and mixed household waste.

In one community in Xiangtan, a plot of land was found raised nearly one meter above surrounding fields, with no visible crops, according to the CCTV News report. Concrete blocks and brick debris were scattered along the edge, and construction waste such as concrete and steel bars was found beneath the topsoil, according to the CCTV News report.
 
According to CCTV News, officials in Xiangtan inspected the garbage dumping sites on Sunday night and initiated rectification measures.
 
Xiangtan quickly established a “special office for permanent basic farmland protection and construction waste management,” to coordinate related efforts, including satellite remote sensing monitoring and on-site verification of the city’s permanent basic farmland, standardizing end-to-end construction waste management of construction waste, and implementing dynamic oversight of industrial solid waste storage sites with a “one enterprise, one file” approach, according to the CCTV News report.

Global Times