Passing by a refuse station can be an unpleasant experience but not if the station is the one in the Youyi Road district of the Urumqi Economic and Technological Development Zone.
"Dump, dump, ok…" -- when a truck puts garbage into a compression device on the station ground, air flies out from the pipes on the station's roof and walls but there's no stench at all.
Deodorant machines installed in the compressor use ultraviolet rays to decompose the smelly gas into water, carbon dioxide and some simple molecular compounds.
The "fragrant liquid" is sprayed over the refuse to weaken its smell. "The station can decompose 50 tons of garbage, or 40 truckloads a day. The equipment minimizes the unfavorable effects on surrounding people," said Qu Hai, head of the station.
The zone has allotted 1.5 million yuan ($217,000) to upgrade the deodorant machines, monitoring equipment and transport vehicles of its refuse stations in the northern new district.
"The zone now has five refuge stations, all equipped with deodorant devices," said Li Qingwen, deputy director general of the zone's urban appearance management bureau.
Edited by Peter Nordlinger