Nearly half of the solid waste in Chinese cities goes untreated, polluting their water, soil and air, experts warned Thursday.

According to the New Technology Development Centre under the China Association of Science and Technology, Chinese cities produce 120 million tons of solid waste annually and the amount is increasing by 8 per cent per annum.

Solid waste pollution affects the quality of the urban environment and sustainable development, the centre said.

The issue was discussed at the second China International Exhibition and Forum on Solid Waste Treatment Technology and Equipment which opened yesterday in Beijing.

The exhibition and forum, organized by the centre and the China Association of Urban Environmental Sanitation, has attracted more than 70 companies and scientific research institutes from countries like the United States, Japan and France.

According to association sources, the number of plants for non-hazardous solid waste treatment has climbed to 651 in 2002 from 371 in 1992.

However, Xu Zhenqu, an environmental expert, said in his report to the forum that investment in urban environmental sanitation is falling as a share of total investment in urban fixed assets.

In 1999, such investment was 3.67 billion yuan (US$443 million) and accounted for 3.18 per cent of total urban fixed assets investment.

Last year, investment increased to 6.5 billion yuan (US$785 million) but the proportion dropped to 2.08 per cent, Xu's report said.

For exhibitors, who are mainly environmental protection companies and institutions, China's solid waste management industry has a big future.

"It is a very exciting time in China because there are many changes in waste management," said Thomas D. Wetherill, Asia Market Development Manager of Waste Management Asia, based in New Zealand.

"We have a transition from the old way of doing things to the modern way," he said.

Wetherill spoke highly of China's efforts on environmental protection.

"There are many new waste management facilities being built, some of the old ones are being closed and more modern ones have been put into operation," said Wetherill, who has worked in China for six years.

China's national strategy for solid waste management, which combines resource recovery, incineration and landfill, is consistent with international approaches, he added.

It aims to reduce waste, to recycle, to compose and to incinerate, he said.

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