Beijing Chengguan Get Tech-savvy

Beijing urban management officers located an illegal waste site through satellite monitoring for the first time, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The Chengguan, or urban management officers, in Shunyi District, became suspicious when when they used satellite monitoring to uncover an illegal construction. On closer investigation, they found an illegal waste site with a dump truck hired by a poultry plant.

The company was fined 50,000 yuan (US$8,200), the maximum amount for waste dumping, though they said they didn't know the people they hired were dumping the waste illegally.

According to Shunyi's urban administration and law enforcement bureau, they have handled 221 illegal waste dumping cases this year, 26 more than last year.

Ninety-eight of the cases this year involved unqualified companies collecting and transporting kitchen waste illegally, 41 more than the total last year, the bureau said.