The guideline was jointly circulated by the Ministry of Construction, the State Environmental Protection Administration and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The policy calls for measures to reduce the amount of garbage discharged in urban areas. Proposed actions include discouraging the practice of excessive packaging, and promoting use of clean fuel for urban residents.

The guideline stipulates that cities, which buried most of the 114 million tonnes of domestic garbage they produced last year, must carefully choose disposal spots to avoid air and ground water pollution.

These cities are required to keep watch over the quality of air and ground water, according to the guideline.

If garbage is disposed of by burning, supplementary equipment must be used to remove wasted gas, water, dust, sediments and to minimize noise pollution.

The amount of urban garbage grew 7 per cent each year during the past decade, according to the Ministry of Construction.

The guideline also encourages urban areas to make compound fertilizers from organic waste.

Garbage classification is advocated so specific disposal methods can be applied.

"It is not enough to impose harsh and abstract policies on cities and residents.

Relevant technology must be introduced into urban areas to help carry out the guideline,"' said Tian Baoguo, an official of the Division of Resources and Environment of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Tian said that the ministry has selected Beijing and the provinces of Sichuan, Hubei, Zhejiang and Henan to experiment with a combination of burying and burning techniques with advanced garbage treatment equipment.

In Beijing, for example, a new burning technique developed by Qinghua University has been used in Chaoyang District.

The university has also developed a new kind of stove that can burn 150 tonnes of garbage per day, said Zhang Yanguo, a university researcher.

The new techniques and equipment will be further used throughout Beijing and other major cities, said Zhang.

(China Daily)