A drug company in China was fined and forced to shut down after spraying over 3,000 tons of highly-concentrated liquid waste on the streets last week.
Bairui Biomedical Technology, located in Jiangsu Province, used a truck guised as a cleaning services vehicle in disposing the yellow green-colored waste it collected for more than a year.
The truck, which carried a “watering” sign, was seen around 11 p.m. on Jan. 10, according to The Paper.
The strong odor of the waste prompted locals to report the situation to authorities. It was found that the pharmaceutical firm had been getting rid of such waste the same way since 2016.
The waste registered a pH level of 4.5 (acidic) after testing. It reportedly contains biological sources derived from Ginkgo biloba and other plants.
While presumed to be less toxic than chemical waste, its effect on the human body is unclear.
As a result, Bairui was fined 800,000 yuan ($124,000) and forced to cease operations.
The South China Morning Post quoted an official as saying, “The people responsible for this have been passed on to the police and are now in detention.”
This is reportedly not the first time the company was investigated for similar offenses.
China, battling environmental problems for a while now, has been ramping up its green policy efforts in recent years. Last year marked the installment of giant solar farms, and in 2020, the world’s first “Forest City” is expected to open.
