Reply To: China waste incinerators pose wide-ranging threats

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Residents of an industrial town in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong are banding together in protest over plans to build a waste incinerator on their doorstep, local sources said on Tuesday.

More than 1,000 local people turned out for a town meeting late on Monday, amid rising anger and concerns over the health effects of pollution from the planned Humen plant, according to a local village committee member surnamed Zhou.

"There were about 1,000 people there, including bosses from nearby factories and local people," Zhou said in an interview on Tuesday. "All of them were against the planned incinerator, which would have a huge impact on Xinwei [village]," he said.

Zhou said the township government had tried to keep the news under wraps following a campaign on the part of local residents, who wrote more than 10,000 complaint letters about the plans in recent months.

"Now it has come out that they are planning to start work at the location they originally planned for, following an environmental impact assessment," he said.

The government wants to build the Humen Waste Disposal Plant at Dalingshan, just 650 meters from Xinwei and Dapaizhai villages, just 3.8 kilometers from the Henggang reservoir, which supplies Houjie township with drinking water.

Villagers to Battle Waste Plant

China sees growing activism over environment and health concerns.