Nearly 50 tons of kitchen waste is treated at the disposal center in Hai'an every day. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

With its modern workshop, high-end facilities and no waste smell in disposal areas, Hai'an kitchen waste disposal center leaves an impression quite different from general disposal stations, according to local media.

"We adopt a harmless processing mode consisting of bulk waste sorting, squeezing and dewatering, oil-water separation, drying and incineration," a person in charge of the center explained.

"The dehydration residues are incinerated with the domestic garbage. After oil-water separation, the sewage is sent to the sewage station to be discharged after reaching the correct standard, and the crude oil is recycled by qualified companies."

Guided by the development concepts of innovation, coordination, green methods, openness and sharing, Hai'an has continuously promoted the collection and resource utilization of waste, minimized the environmental impact of waste and constructed a green "zero-waste" city.

Hai'an has taken the lead in integrating traditional sanitation business and waste sorting in Jiangsu province. Through government purchasing services, China Tianying Inc (CNTY) undertook the integration of the two sectors in Hai'an's urban area.

With the government's support, CNTY invested 340 million yuan ($50 million) in building a power generation project through domestic waste incineration in 2012. Equipped with three mechanical grate furnaces with a daily processing capacity of 250 tons of domestic waste and two condensing steam turbine generator sets with a total installed capacity of 15 megawatt, the project received multiple honors at national and provincial levels.

In addition to the waste power plant, Hai'an also built disposal centers for construction waste, kitchen waste, livestock manure and hazardous waste, and invested 800 million yuan in efficient treatment and recycling of all kinds of waste.