Pig dung leads to profit in Longyou.
Pig dung used to be a serious issue in Longyou county, Zhejiang province.
The waste produced by 2.8 million hogs raised in the county had fouled rivers here.
But Zhu Youbiao, a local farmer, has turned the county’s mountains of dung into serious dough, with the establishment of Kaiqi Energy Technology Co Ltd in 2009.
"I had 25,000 pigs and dozens of tons of dung and urine needed to be dealt with every day," said Zhu.
After consulting experts from China’s Ministry of Agriculture and waste treatment companies in Europe, his research team designed a system that would decontaminate pigs’ excretions and convert this potential source of pollution into profit.
At first, Zhu only used the process to treat his own farm waste.
The central government invested 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) to help Kaiqi promote its facility in 2014, and the company now collects waste from every pig farm in Longyou.
The company produces an average of 15,000 tons of solid biofertilizer and 16 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.
By 2016, there were no "black and smelly" or "garbage" rivers left in the county, according to the county’s water resources bureau.