Shenzhen plans to build 418 garbage treatment stations before 2020, and 336 of them are expected to be completed before 2007, a spokesman for the city's urban management bureau confirmed yesterday.

Where these stations will be built is still not clear, as two planned stations in the Meilin and Xinzhou areas in Futian District met strong objections from nearby residents during a public consultation last month.

According to the bureau's plans, 42 garbage treatment stations will be built in Luohu District, 45 in Futian, 38 in Nanshan, 14 in Yantian, 130 in Bao'an and 67 in Longgang. The plans addressed a proposal by some lawmakers from the city.

While 40 of the 336 have been finished and 85 others are under construction, finding locations for the remaining 211 is still a headache for the bureau.

Chen Zuozhi, vice director of Futian District's urban management bureau, said the location of 21 garbage treatment stations in the district is still undecided, as residents have complained the stations will worsen their living environment, producing foul odors and destroying the view.

Luo Xiangdong, vice director of the municipal bureau's environment and hygiene department, said over 60 percent of the city's existing garbage treatment stations had been opposed by local residents.

However, he believed the newly designed garbage treatment stations, which are tightly sealed, would cause no pollution and be accepted by people.

According to the bureau, the new quadrate stations are equipped with devices so that garbage transfer will be conducted indoors rather than in open air, which ensures no leaking of garbage.

A spokesman surnamed Cui for the municipal bureau said that the objections were also due to a construction plan that falls behind the city's development and population growth.

"There is no space left for a garbage station every time when one is to be built in the most needed area, usually a densely populated community," he said.

The bureau therefore decided to construct more stations for future use.

The city churns out an average of 11,000 tons of garbage daily. Garbage treatment stations presently in the city were built in the past decade and far from enough to meet the demand.

(Shenzhen Daily September 13, 2006)