News from a press conference of Hunan Provincial Government is that in the first month of this year, Hunan Province has closed 496 paper-making factories of the 596 total paper firms.
The province plans to complete the straightening out of all the paper making enterprises by the end of this year and the work will be done in three stages.
In the first period that ended on December 30, 2007, all chemical pulp making factories that didn't have an alkali recycling installation and waste paper making companies with less than 10000 tons of annual capacity were shut down. In the second period that ends on March 31, 2008, all chemical pulp making factories that have alkali recycling facilities but whose pollutant emission can't reach the standard, and waste paper making factories whose annual production capacity is more than 10000 tons but who don't have effective environmental protection facilities shall be shut.
During the third phase that ends on December 31, 2008, chemical pulp making companies whose annual production capacity is over 50000 tons and whose emission reaches the standard, and waste paper making companies with more than 10000 tons of annual capacity and complete waste water disposal facilities shall be allowed to resume production after they are audited by the three levels of environmental departments at the provincial level, municipal level and county level.
In the meantime, other paper making enterprises that have not undergone renovation or pollution controls shall be shut by the local government.
