Protesters march against trash incinerator in Guangdong

BEIJING - Residents in a southern Chinese town protested for a second day Sunday against a proposed garbage incinerating plant. Hundreds of people were gathered on a long street in front of the offices of the government in Guangdong province's Boluo county.

Participants and witnesses said thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday to voice their fears of the plant's potential impact on health and the environment.

The demonstration in Guangdong province's Boluo county was the latest to highlight how Chinese have become increasingly wary of the environmental hazards of such projects.

"I am worried about the impact it may have on the water source," said a local resident who gave only his family name, Chen. "Burning will definitely cause air pollution. We are concerned about the health of our children."

The demonstration came several months after a massive protest over a proposed waste incinerator in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

China's cities are challenged with the daunting task of properly disposing of huge amounts of trash generated by the country's growing and increasingly affluent urban population. Experts and government officials believe high-standard incinerators can be a feasible solution to ensure public sanitation.

Yet members of the Chinese public are not ready to accept government proposals for trash incinerators despite repeated assurances that such projects will have minimal environmental impact.

In the public notice posted on its official microblogging account, the Boluo county government said it would "further gather reasonable and lawful suggestions and opinions from the public" and would "pick the project site scientifically and in accordance of the law."

Photos provided by eyewitnesses and those circulating in China's social media showed protesters holding up banners opposing the incinerator as they marched through Luoyang's streets, despite periodical rain showers.

The protesters said the crowds also shouted slogans such as "Protect the homeland"' and "Refuse trash."