Creating eco-friendly Hunan focus of more efforts

The cities of Hunan province have made concerted efforts in combating air, water and waste pollution while making it a more environmentally friendly place to live, said a paper released by the Ecology and Environment Department of Hunan.

While launching a large number of projects to help safeguard the high quality of its air, water and soil resources this year, Hunan has turned to its more environmentally friendly cities to learn from their experience and drawn localized plans for each city.

Changsha, the capital city of the province, has implemented a complete system of garbage disposal, including waste sorting, refuse transportation and waste incineration. Last January, it established the country's largest waste-to-energy incinerator, which has processed 3.2 million tons of rubbish to date. It also cut the daily amount of waste it sent to landfills from 7,800 tons in 2017 to currently 1,400 tons.

Yueyang, another city of Hunan, has the second largest freshwater lake in China, Dongting Lake, which is an essential part of the Yangtze River ecosystem. Since 2017, the city has worked hard to ensure the quality of the environment by shutting down polluting industries and starting remediation projects, setting a good example in green development that prioritizes the environment along the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

More cities, including Yiyang and Ruanjiang, have also joined in the environmental protection efforts as Hunan outlined its three-year plans in addressing water, air and soil problems last year.