Life on a wasteland
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"The garbage dump was just about five meters high in the very beginning, but now it is much higher," Han said.
The media's constant attention to the cancer-causing possibilities of the dump has pressured local government to consider "going green."
Local authorities decided to allocate 40 million yuan($5.85 million) to reduce pollution by adding topsoil to the landfill.
"The work to cover the dump with earth has almost been finished," Ren said. Her plan is to stack the garbage in terraces, like a flight of stairs, 8 meters apart, and cover each step with topsoil.
Ren and her team plan to finish the work in late April.
After that, another group of people will take charge of planting trees and sowing grass seed on the garbage mountain.
"In about 10 years, I think we can see a really green hill on the dump," Ren said, confidently. By that time, little Lele will be 12 years old and, if his family doesn't move, he will have spent most of his childhood living in a smelly, dangerous wasteland.
Experts have mixed opinions on the effectiveness of the landfill treatment.
"A landfill itself is also a huge pollution problem," said Zhao Zhangyuan, a researcher at the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, referring to polluted wastewater that oozes into neighboring farmland. Wastewater containing chemicals from ordinary household cleaners can damage crops and poison drinking water.
According to a report by the State Council, only 57 percent of the 935 landfills in China have passed safety examinations and gained approval for their environmental impact.
"In fact, most of the landfills asking us to do the assessments are large-scale, while the hidden perils lie in the small and simple landfills that don't undergo an assessment," Zhao said.
Among the unexamined landfills, 34 percent have taken no measures to block waste seepage, and 39 percent have done nothing to divert rain water and sewage.
"The landfills can pollute the underground water easily, if there are no corresponding measures to take care of it," Zhao said.
Actually, the dump under reconstruction in Humen county has drainage ditches on the perimeter of the hill to divert rain water and sewage, according to Ren.
The most effective and easiest way to dispose of garbage is to separate organic refuse from glass and plastic containers that can be recycled.
But in Chengdu, the recycling bins have had no effect. People are either unaware of recycling or don't want to take the trouble of sorting it out, preferring to just dump everything into one bin.
"The government has to come up with more scientific and sound measures on how to deal with the disposal of the waste in the future," Zhao said.
Increasing protests over garbage removal have caused frictions in the delicate relationship between local governments and the people.
Recently the Guangzhou government called off the opening of a garbage incinerator in the Panyu district; reacting to strong protests from thousands of landlords living close to the incineration site.
The government promises to hold public hearings after the release of an environment impact assessment.
Experts suggest that China learn from other countries with landfills located near residential areas.
"There was no foul smell when I visited these landfills," Wang Weiping said.
"Mainly because, unlike China, landfills in other countries obey operational standards."
In China, there are no specific regulations on waste incineration and operational specifications for landfills has not yet been written into law.
Wang called on the government to set penalties when landfills are not monitored for pollution.
While city dwellers celebrate a victory for environmental protection, they will still be using little villages like Yuanfeng as garbage cans and little Lele faces life on a wasteland.
