Aerial photo of the Jiufeng Waste-to-Energy Power Plant in Hangzhou, capital city of east China’s Zhejiang province [Photo/sinomach.com.cn]

A rating of harmless treatment facilities for urban household garbage, supervised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, was recently launched by the China Association of Urban Environmental Sanitation. The Jiufeng Waste-to-Energy Power Plant undertaken by China United Engineering Corporation (CUC) affiliated to Sinomach won the title of “AAA Waste-to-Energy Plant” with the highest score of 98.8 in the domestic sector.

The plant, located in Nanfeng village of Yuhang district in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, handles more than 1.3 million tons of solid waste per year and is responsible for nearly one-third of the terminal disposal of municipal solid waste in Hangzhou. It can supply 440 million kilowatt hours of electricity, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 400,000 households, literally turning “waste” into wealth.

The plant runs well with standard-compliant emissions, and was honored with the “National Green Development Model Enterprise”, the “Most Quality Experience Point” in 2019 and 2020. It is helping Hangzhou accelerate its ecological efforts and develop into a city of quality life.

The plant meets the ever-increasing demand for municipal solid waste treatment in Hangzhou, and has succeeded in overcoming the Not in My Backyard Phenomenon (NIMBY), a worldwide challenge of waste-to-energy projects in which surrounding residents are concerned about the facility’s negative effects on their health, property and living environment.

It also built five bases themed on industrial tourism, the circular economy, environmental protection, popular science education and Party construction, and has become a window to the world showcasing China’s ecological achievements and environmental governance, laying a solid foundation for homemade technologies to go global and serving the Belt and Road Initiative.