Almost half of China's rubbish dumps do not meet the country's environmental standards, the State Council has said.

Of 935 landfill plants, more than a third do not take anti-leakage measures and almost 40 percent do not separate rainwater from leachate, a potentially hazardous solution created in the decomposition of waste, said the State Council's environment assessment team. Only 57 percent met the criteria during tests, it told 21st Century Business Herald.

"Things are much worse as many small waste dumps exist without supervision," Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environment Affairs, told China Daily. "Leakages and emissions are hazardous to the environment."

Burying waste in landfill sites is common in many countries, but without proper management it can lead to problems including vermin and toxic gas emissions.

China generated more than 150 million tons of household trash last year, as well as 1.9 billion tons of industrial waste, said the Ministry of Environment Protection in its 2008 China Environment Report.

Experts estimate that, due to rapid economic growth, the nation's volume of trash is rising more than 8 percent annually and, in less than five years, the total amount will be 50 percent more than today.

The government's 4-trillion yuan (US$568 billion) stimulus package allocated 21 million yuan for environment protection. The eco-assessment program conducted by the State Council and eight ministries began in May, with the results expected in October.

Large cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing already face problems with landfill leakage.

Lan Wenyan, a 72-year-old living near a garbage station in the capital's Chaoyang district, said: "For the past few decades, I haven't seen any anti-leakage or anti-emission measures at the station. You still have to hold your nose."

Experts claim incineration is the future for garbage disposal but warn it must be strictly managed. Incineration is controversial as it releases dioxin, a cancer hazard.

"As long as the temperature in the incinerator is high enough there is no fear of emission of toxic gas," said Nie Yongfeng, an environmental sciences professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

(China Daily July 6, 2009)