Liao Yubei was known in CR as “Uncle Bei”. He has been living in Linshan Village, Litang County, Binyang Town for 61 years. With a history of more than 2,000 years, Binyang was an ethnic minority-inhibited area of the Yue Kingdom and later became a town of China in the sixth year of Yuanding during Emperor Wu’s reign in the Han Dynasty. Bordering Hongshui River on the North and having Qingshui River running through its territory, Binyang used to be a place with Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains. However, with rapid economic growth and a growing population, untreated waste became a severe problem threatening local environment and the life of residents.

To solve the problem, CR Cement signed an agreement on the treatment of domestic waste with the government of Binyang to develop the urban-rural domestic waste coordinated treatment project with a daily capacity of 300 tons with CR Hongshui River Cement Company as the major driver.

The Project introduced the HOTDISC from HL Smidth and rubbish crushers and sewage water treatment technologies from Germany to establish a new technical roadmap of “Mechanical Biology + Hotdisc”. The ash of the solid waste being burned can be 100% used to produce cement. At the same time, the filtered liquid is also 100% collected after being treated, realizing circular development while saving more than 10 mu of land for waste dumping.

As a farmer, Uncle Bei had never heard of these jargons when he first heard the news. Instead, he was upset and frightened. Questions began to pop up in his mind: will waste combustion produce hazardous air? Will waste treatment pollute our water?

The same questions were also lingering in the mind of villagers living near the Cement Factory. The initial poll showed that local villagers had been quite pessimistic. Actually it had been secretly agreed that the villagers would take actions to interrupt the project their expectations were not met.

CR Cement invited villagers to the construction site to help them better understand the principles and operation of the project with simple and easy-to- understand illustrations. Through such efforts, CR Cement was able to gradually dispel the worries of local villagers. Results of the 6th poll show that 100% of local villagers support the project.

All villagers were welcomed to visit the site since the project was put into construction in January 2015. They were totally convinced when they saw the project being promoted as promised, the fish swimming freely in the glass tank filled with recycled water and CR employees confidently drinking the treated water.

After being put into operation in December 2015 and passing the evaluation and appraisal of related authorities in June 2016, the project has treated more than 120,000 tons of domestic waste. Today’s Binyang is known for its beautiful scenery and good environment with the realization of environmental proection and economic prosperity. Moreover, CR is also committed to improving the awareness of villagers in environmental protection to motivate all sectors of the society to care for Mother Earth. With the help of waste classification and treatment, Uncle Bei’s grandsons can now play happily in the woods surrounded by clear rivers.

What about other places?

As a civilization based on agriculture, rice fields, barns, grassland, farms, flying birds and mowing deer are cultural symbols of the Chinese nation. Our ancestors used to extol the grand mountains and rushing rivers, the shining stars and blue sky. However, these commonly seen scenes have become a luxury in today’s world. 40 years of reform efforts made the people richer, but also saw the water, land and forest being polluted and mounting rubbish surrounding cities. Rural China suffered from environmental pollution in the process of development and is even regarded by some as “rubbish dumps with blossoming flowers. However, can economic development only be achieved at the expense of the environment?

The 13th Five-Year Plan pointed out that with accelerated industrialization and urbanization and the continuous upgrade of the structure of consumption, sustainable development is becoming increasingly imperative. Against such background, all sectors of the economy need to make greater efforts to promote energy conservation and emission reduction. We shouldn’t sacrifice long-term environmental benefits for short-term business profit, neither should we pursue business expansion at the expense of depriving the next generation of the right of living in a good environment or increasing business profit by squeezing spending on environmental protection. CR Cement Binyang Domestic Waste Treatment and Disposal Project is an effective solution offered by CR in response to the demand of the country.

Uncle Be said

The Binyang urban-rural domestic waste coordinated treatment project of CR Cement is a perfect demonstration of the philosophy of “green development” held by the CR Group. Uncle Bei has several longan trees planted in front of his house. “I hope that one hundred years later, my great grandsons will still be able to eat the fruits of the tree”, said Uncle Bei, smiling. His wish can only come true if green and scientific development is pursued.

Only through retaining the respect to and love for nature and the land we live on can we protect our hometown and leave a clean and beautiful country to the next generations and resume the traditional rural culture.

CR will continue to improve energy conservation and environmental protection, optimize industrial structure, knock out backward production capacity and actively promote related experience to other places. We believe that with the efforts of CR, the beautiful scenery that is about to disappear will be recovered.